The Beginning of a New End
by 12VelvetWhispers
Summary: "What if I told you that death didn't have to be the end?" No words had ever impacted Jaune Arc as fiercely as those. In the wake of devastation at Beacon, the remaining huntsmen prepare for war. But what someone has to offer the the young huntsman might prove to be both a miracle and a curse. For what price is too steep to reverse time itself to be reunited with the one you love?
1. Counting Stars

**Chapter 1 - Counting Stars**

* * *

" _We've been told all our lives that death is the ultimate finality - that there are none who can escape the eternal sleep. Though you may believe yourself prepared, death has a way of catching us all by surprise. We all bleed red in the end. But what if I told you that death didn't have to be the end? What if I told you that there was a small chance to reverse the cycle? Many wouldn't hesitate to revive their loved ones, impatient at the opportunity to be reunited in the midst of grief. But what if I also told you that there was a steep price for such a bargain? What price would be too great to reverse time itself? The answer might surprise you even more than death…"_

Those words echoed in Jaune's mind as he felt his back hit rough limestone behind him, his body sliding bonelessly down the wall of the dark hallway, as he plopped unceremoniously onto the floor in a clumsy heap. His ragged knees pressed to his armored chest, gloved hands hung limply at his sides, head tipping back to stare blankly at the flickering gas-lamp across the way. He would have cried again, but his tears were spent and he was utterly exhausted.

The words, while they made sense in context to the rest of the conversation...they just didn't seem to be adding up in the blonde's already hazy mind.

 _Reverse time? Revive loved ones? Not the end?_

Jaune knew that he shouldn't be surprised by anything at this point...that some of the legends he had always believed were just that - stories and tales - were, in fact, at least marginally realistic.

Since the attack on Beacon nearly two months prior, he hadn't really had the time or energy to argue with himself about what was real or not. Team JNPR - or what was left of it - had spent much of its time debriefing with Glynda and Ironwood over the passing weeks - time that had only succeeded in confusing him and making him question everything he'd ever believed about the line between reality and make-believe.

He didn't want to believe it was all gone - the school, his friends, Pyrrha…

He clenched his eyes shut tightly, shaking his head erratically, before slamming it back against the stone. It jarred his brain and ached through his skull just enough to knock the suffocating anguish from his mind and set his thoughts back on track.

 _There's no time for dwelling on this right now...maybe...someday...when this is all over...perhaps then I might be able to rest._

For now, he was short on time, and even shorter on options.

He, Jaune Arc, had a choice to make...

* * *

 _ **Two weeks earlier…**_

When Jaune had answered the letter from Ruby to assemble what remained of his team and convene at her small cottage in Patch, he had believed that this was a call to arms - a war summons. Though he held a heavy heart, he had done as ordered and reached out to Nora and Ren, informing them of the dispatch, before booking expedient travel to the small island.

Upon arrival, they had rendezvoused at a small diner in the local market-area, meeting with a somber shell of the former Ruby Rose. But there had been hope in her eyes and a determination that made him wonder. She had relayed some valuable information regarding their next course of action, but what had surprised Jaune the most was that she seemed genuinely concerned that he and his remaining teammates would need to be _convinced_ to join her. Sure, he understood that Ruby didn't like to get her friends involved in her schemes, but this seemed like an obvious exception - she could never do this alone. Hell, this was a long-shot for all four of them, much less any one of them, individually.

The meal had been brief, making plans to congregate outside her home the following morning at 8am sharp. Then the teens had parted ways, retiring to the pair of rooms they had booked in the local inn.

As Jaune had prepared for bed that night, rechecking his pack and seeming to walk around in the haze that had encompassed him for the past several weeks, there had been a knock at his door. Thinking it might have been Ren or Nora, he had merely sighed softly before opening it without a second thought.

Only to find someone who was decidedly _**not**_ Ren or Nora.

The late-night visitor was a man he had only seen a couple of times prior, and with which he had never really been given the opportunity to engage in conversation. Tall, intimidating, and moderately scraggly, yet objectively handsome, the seasoned huntsman cocked a narrow hip against the doorway, arms lazily crossed over his chest. The man carried himself with an air of nonchalance and self-assuredness, but there was unmistakably an undertone of apprehension and concern in his countenance.

Jaune knew this was Qrow Branwen - Ruby's uncle, and the acting Headmaster of Beacon in light of Ozpin's extended disappearance.

The man had wasted little time to usher himself in, perching himself on the trunk at the foot of Jaune's bed, and staring intensely at the faded painting of a crimson forest, framed and mounted on the wall across from him.

Feeling more than a little bit taken aback, Jaune blinked slowly a few times to process the intrusion. After a few moments, he shut the door quietly behind the man, before clicking the lock and turning to press his rigid back against the pinewood frame. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, frowning deeply at the figure before him.

"Professor Branwe-"

"Just call me Qrow. You're not one of those little rugrats I taught back at Signal."

Jaune flinched slightly at the gravel and grit in the man's voice. He sounded like the worst combination of fatigued, dejected, and irritable. The blonde teen took a quiet breath, steeling himself for the worst.

"Alright...Qrow. What brings you here at this hour?"

Suspicion and concern began to churn in Jaune's gut, and he found himself swaying his weight almost imperceptibly back-and-forth between his feet. Could the 30-something, battle-worn huntsman have found out about their plans to leave? Was he here to forbid their quest? To punish their insolence and arrogance at thinking they could actually do something about their situation?

Qrow was a veteran huntsman - one who had probably seen things Jaune couldn't even imagine. He had, most likely, killed more Grimm than all of the blonde's teammates combined, and was surely no stranger to war, death, and loss.

"I'll cut right to the chase here, since there isn't much time to get into the nitty gritty details. I'm aware of your plans to travel to Haven with my troublesome little niece."

Jaune caught his breath quietly, hoping the man couldn't hear him. He was sure he would have felt his heart sink in his chest, if it weren't already at the bottom, where it had recently taken up residence. There was just nowhere else for it to fall. Instead he frowned only slightly, before giving a curt nod of confirmation to the man's words.

 _No point in lying now…_

He was ready for the tongue-lashing, the destruction of his meager expectations, and the assassination of what little character he had left.

What he got instead, was like a kick to the gut.

"Ruby never was very good at keeping plans to herself, and Yang's always had a big mouth, even though she seems to have lost her voice lately…"

There was a deep sadness and regret in his words...to which Jaune felt he might relate the tiniest bit.

"As a teacher and uncle, I can't condone this reckless venture. But as a fellow huntsman and one who understands the way this cruel, unforgiving world operates...I am also aware that there is precious little time to waste on overprotectiveness and insecurity. It would be irresponsible not to follow every lead to its end."

Jaune could feel something bubble in his chest, something he thought felt an awful lot like hope…

 _Is he…?_

"It would normally take you at least three days to reach Haven by airship, with no layovers. However, since there aren't too many of those available for travel in the current state of chaos, you're lookin' at far more extended travel plans."

Jaune's eyes widened slightly, realizing what was happening.

"It's a day's walk to the nearest port here on Patch that will hire out a barge or boat to Vale. From there, you're looking at an 18-24-hour voyage by sea to the nearest port on the mainland - which is probably the industrial district of Vale. If you're lucky, you'll be able to catch a private air-captain or wealthy businessman willing to fly your rag-tag team to the heart of the commercial district where most of our military and huntsman are stationed at the present. If not, you're lookin' at another three-to-five days of trekkin' through the wilderness of Forever Fall and fightin' your way there on foot, or horseback, if you can afford it. You'll have to go around Beacon...possibly through Mountain Glenn."

Qrow took a labored breath, releasing it in a heavy sigh and running a long-fingered hand through his shaggy locks. He continued to stare at the painting before him.

"If you manage to reach the safe-zone, you're gonna need to procure a means of travel to the eastern coast, then maybe hire a barge or ship to take you to one of the outlyin' villages north of Mistral's Capital city. No airships are flyin' out of Vale to Mistral at the present. If you're resourceful, you might hop on a military ship headed north to Mantle. It'll be simple to book travel to Mistral from Atlas HQ. They're the only city currently deployin' airships across the kingdom."

 _Atlas? Weiss..._

Qrow leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tops of his thighs, and dropping his gaze to the hardwood floors. He seemed to swallow thickly, before finally turning his head to lock eyes with the blonde.

"Once in Haven, you'll wanna seek out lodging near the Academy. Your best bet is to enlist the help of as many of your friends there as possible. They'll know the area, where to look for suspicious activity, where to go for public records. You'll also want to set up a private meeting with the headmaster there, but you'll still wanna keep this as quiet as possible."

Those crimson eyes narrowed slightly in warning, and Jaune could feel them probing him for a reaction.

"There are eyes everywhere, and not all of them belong to us."

* * *

Nearly eighteen hours into the ship-ride from the stockyards on Patch, found the blonde huntsman in solitude at the stern of the passenger ferry. The air about Jaune's shadowy form was dense with salt, a brackish gale whipping through flaxen hair and striking it against pale cheeks, and it reminded him of the twigs that had snapped back and whacked him in the face...back in the Emerald Forest during his freshman initiation. He could feel his heart sinking once more.

That had been the day he had met her…

The ferocious breeze caught the tattered ends of his black and orange hoodie, sweeping it in a contrariwise lazy manner against his narrow hips and overlapped arms, as they lay heavily along the top of an icy, copper bar – corroded from the briny exposure. Utilizing the harsh surface to support his weary upper-body, as his denim-clad knees rested against the matching bar below, the young huntsman drew in a tight breath. His sapphire eyes peered despondently skyward at the soft cries of the wild gulls – as if searching the hazy heavens for something that would turn time in the opposite direction – granting him a lifetime of starting over and trying again.

As he gazed out across the seemingly endless ocean, the clouds so bleached and dim that the landscape appeared to be but a single dreary backdrop of dark grey before him, Jaune felt that the warmth of his hoodie and bracers was not nearly sufficient to halt the chill in his blood. It was a cold that permeated downward into the very bones that ached beneath his trembling flesh. The surf was full of life beneath his feet, separated by several tons of solid steel and copper, as it frothed against the bilge of the passenger ferry. It didn't help him to feel any less lifeless as he counted down the hours until they would reach the other side of that unfathomable distance – across that choppy sea to the industrial district of Vale.

He was so focused on his thoughts that he nearly missed the approaching figure until it had taken its place beside him. He startled slightly as the shorter huntress sidled up to his left, the black sleeves of her combat dress coming to rest on the bar, as she gazed out at the setting sun. He didn't miss the soft sigh that escaped her parted lips, the foggy air condensing around her face in a cool mist at the exhalation.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

Ruby's words were soft and breathy against the cool evening air, caressing his ears with her concern and apprehension. He knew he'd need to talk about things eventually, but the wounds were still too fresh, and he didn't think discussing it was going to aid any parties involved. If anything, it would only succeed in dampening their spirits further, and potentially become a major hindrance on this journey - a quest that required they keep clear heads at all times.

"I appreciate your concern, Ruby. Really, I do. I just...I'm not ready to talk about this yet. I don't think it's a good idea."

He caught slight movement out of the corner of his eye, and canted his head briefly to take in the younger huntress' profile. Her pale skin stood out in stark contrast to the darkening sky, the amber hues of sunset fading slowly into the lavenders and indigos of dusk. The breeze whipped carelessly through her layered, burgundy hair, the strands whipping around the vibrant scarlet of her hooded cloak, drawn up to shroud her crown against the growing chill. Her words were softer, a lingering sadness penetrating Jaune's silence with each syllable.

"But _she'd_ want you to talk about it…"

Jaune couldn't fend off the deep ache that settled behind his ribs at the statement. She wasn't wrong - Pyrrha would never want him to bottle up his emotions like he was doing at the present. She would want him to talk it out, to unburden himself to her and cast off his worries in a healthy way. But Pyrrha wasn't there anymore - she was gone…

That was something that Jaune was still having a hard time coming to grips with - something that he still, for the life of him, couldn't accept. Talking about it would mean that he was acknowledging the fact that he would never see her again. It would mean that he had chosen to give up on that futile hope that something could be done to bring her back.

He wasn't ready to say goodbye yet.

So, when he finally did speak, after several long, heavy moments, his words were laced with a brevity meant to end the discussion before it could turn the mood completely black, "I can't...not yet..."

He noticed the dip of that pale chin, as silver eyes averted to the obsidian sea below, pale fingers worrying at the threads encircling her wrists, "When _will_ you be ready, Jaune?"

His golden brows creased in a brief frown, before smoothing out as he blinked against the salty spray that pitched up from below them, "I don't now...maybe someday. Maybe never…"

If Ruby didn't agree with his answer, she chose not to argue. For that Jaune was immeasurably grateful.

The silence stretched between the two, settling over them like a dense cowl of thorns. Jaune could feel the tension in the air as the slighter girl sighed deeply. She turned over her shoulder, pressing her back against the copper bars and crossing her arms over the gentle swell of her chest.

"Well, for what it's worth, Jaune...when and if that day ever comes, you know I'm here to listen. We all are. We're all in this together. You don't have to walk through this by yourself. You're still a leader, Jaune...even if you're down a man. Don't forget what that means…"

And on those dismal, bleak words, Ruby took her leave, heading for the small bunk rooms below the deck.

Glancing back up at the darkening sky, Jaune noted the clearness of the atmosphere, the world above blanketed in a weaving of bright, vibrant stars. Picking out each constellation by memory - his oldest sister had always loved astronomy - he blinked away the moisture that threatened to cloud his vision.

Pyrrha had loved the stars, too, always ending their training sessions on the roof with a brief bout of stargazing, when the nights had been clear enough to permit it. They had lain on their backs on that cold, unforgiving concrete, mere inches between their crowns as they studied the heavens from opposite directions. Their gloved hands would pillow their heads, and they would talk of their dreams, wishes, and goals - the stars merely a golden ambience above their still forms.

As the memory faded at the edges, Jaune, left with only his thoughts and the cool breeze of the sea, couldn't help but wonder if there really was something that could be done to right this otherwise hopeless situation. And, if so, would they discover it in time to do so?


	2. Unwilling to Concede

Once the small group had docked on the outskirts of the industrial district in Vale, they made their way through the abandoned and debris-laden streets to the eastern upper-class district.

It didn't take much effort or time.

The place was a war-zone - broken buildings, no power, countless corpses of both man and beast, and so much shattered glass that even booted feet must be careful and mindful of where they stepped.

Jaune prayed that the commercial district - where the safe zone was set up - would be in better condition. All things considered, he didn't hold too much hope for that notion.

The sound of shards crunching under his sneakers echoed above the low hum of exposed live-wires, and all four sets of eyes and ears were open and alert for any sign of Grimm activity, as they traversed the empty streets. Sparks and embers flickered like lightning, and the wind kicked up dust and ash as it blew through the transformed ghost town. It was almost as if a bomb had been dropped on the city.

"It's just like Mountain Glenn…"

Ruby's forlorn voice reached Jaune's ears, drawing his eyes back to the young huntress, as he gripped firmly to the hilt of Crocea Mors. His shield was poised before him, ready to fend off any surprise attacks, should it become necessary. They wouldn't be caught off-guard this early in their trip.

"Huh? Mountain Glenn? What's that?"

Jaune's voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears, and he didn't miss the worried look exchanged between his two remaining teammates.

"Oh, it was a failed expansion of Vale years ago. It's the place where our team was assigned during our first field mission at the end of last semester...you remember?"

Jaune let a tight breath slip from his throat at Ruby's reply, eyes scanning the still-smoldering wreckage, as he did his best to train his thoughts away from the dangerous territory they were quickly approaching.

"Yeah...I remember - the one that ended in the Grimm invasion in the residential district of Vale."

There was a moment of tense silence between the four teens, and Jaune blinked slowly, before cleaving through it, "So, Mountain Glenn...tell me more about it."

Ruby seemed to perk up slightly at the request, and Jaune couldn't tell if it was because she was passionate about the subject, or if she was just glad to have him contributing to the non-mission-related conversation for the first time in the three days since they had convened on Patch. She held Crescent Rose at an angle in her small palms, eyes scanning her surroundings as she recounted their mission exploits, her accidental capture, and the whole incident with the train that had led to the near-massacre in Vale.

Jaune couldn't fault her for the near-failure any more than he could fault her for not reaching the top of Beacon Tower in time to save…

He shook the thought from his head, focusing his mind on the task at hand. There was no room for such idle thoughts in this theater of war. One stray regret could lead to an unnecessary distraction that could cost any one of their lives. Jaune wasn't interested in losing anyone else to this mindless evil.

That was not an outcome he was willing to entertain.

* * *

Upon reaching the commercial district of downtown Vale, Jaune and his team were surprised to find that not a single creature of Grimm could be found wandering the streets. The popular theory among their group was that all of them were attracted to the remains of Beacon Academy, and could thus not be bothered to haunt the broken boulevards of an otherwise harmless city. It made the streets seem eerily quiet - so much so that they could hear their own breathing. It was a far cry from the bustling, noisy crowds that had frequented this area in the past.

It felt like it was only yesterday that Team JNPR had been celebrating their victory in the Team Round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. They had grabbed dinner at their favorite brick-oven pizza place on 4th street, before restocking their ammo and dust cartridges at the local armory. Nora had jumped out from behind a magazine rack and caused Ren to startle so suddenly and violently that he had nearly knocked over an entire shelf of purified dust vials. It was only thanks to Pyrrha's semblance that they had managed to avoid being banned from that particular store.

Jaune closed his eyes tightly at the memory, blowing a harsh breath from his nose, as he clenched his fingers around his sword's hilt to ground himself once more. The memories were assaulting him a lot more frequently these days. It seemed he was no longer living in the detached, dissociative stage of grief. Normally, one would believe that to be a positive thing - a sign that you were moving forward and inching closer toward acceptance. To Jaune, he believed this could not be happening at a worse time. He needed a clear head, solid heart, and error-tight resolve. There was no room for grieving, talking about his feelings, or reminiscing about times passed.

 _Finish what you've started first. Then we'll deal with your emotions..._

So they continued onward in silence, passing down shadowy sidewalks with no further conversation.

Locating the small cluster of buildings being used by the local huntsmen as a 'fallout shelter' of sorts wasn't incredibly challenging. The area was marked by the Atlesian Military symbol for 'sanctuary', and torches were lit with burn-dust to avoid being extinguished.

As they approached the nondescript warehouse, Jaune took up the lead once more. Collapsing his shield and sheathing his sword, he approached the heavy, steel door marked with the oval and cross symbol. There was a small floodlight flickering and humming above him, as he stood like a prisoner waiting to be interrogated. He motioned for the others to hang back for a moment, before knocking three times in a slow, staccato rhythm - as they had all been taught in their first week at the Academy. This was the standard way to reveal that you were a fellow huntsman and seeking asylum.

Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, but soon a small, roll-away window, no bigger than a deck of cards, swiveled open to reveal a pair of unfamiliar, ice blue eyes.

"Call sign?"

Jaune blinked stupidly for a moment, his brain stuttering at the curt, vague words. He didn't recognize the voice, and the eyes were as cold as the ice they resembled. He was reminded of Weiss for a brief moment.

 _Call sign?_

Then the light-bulb went off in Jaune's brain, recalling a routine lesson from their 1st year at Beacon.

'Call signs' were something that had been taught to them in Ozpin's brief seminar on espionage, battle-readiness, and war-preparedness, should they ever encounter a need to verify one's identity. Should a traitor be in their midst, each active huntsman was assigned a 'call sign' or code name of sorts, to be given upon immediate request to the commanding officer in a squadron or gatekeeper of a safe-house.

All first-year teams were given their 'call signs' following their team-naming ceremony on their initiation day. The only people who knew your 'call sign' were your immediate teammates, squad leaders, and anyone with access to the encrypted military database. This was one of the areas the Black Queen Virus had not been able to infiltrate, as of yet.

After only a moment of hesitation, Jaune nodded directly and spoke in a confident voice, "Agent Cataphract, here. I am accompanied by agents Shinobi, Ragnarok, and…"

He glanced awkwardly at Ruby in askance, not being privy to her 'call sign', as they were not on the same team.

Her slate eyes widened slightly, before she stepped forward, collapsing her scythe and replacing it at her back-holster, "Oh, Agent Creep, here."

Jaune felt a shiver run through him at the realization of Ruby's 'call sign'.

 _Her 'call sign' is the name of a creature of Grimm…?_

He didn't have time to dwell on the thought for too long, as the window slammed shut, the hinges and bolts of the door creaking as it began to open before them.

Once the door finally swung open, the group was greeted by a small, frail looking huntsman wielding a scimitar that was nearly as big as he was. He wore neatly pressed grey trousers, black dress shoes, a white button-down shirt, and a casual charcoal jacket. His hair was sandy-blonde, and his ice-blue eyes were his most striking feature. Otherwise, he looked very plain and normal - he would probably blend into a crowd very well, not drawing any unnecessary attention.

Jaune imagined that he was likely one of the huntsmen Ozpin often assigned to espionage or infiltration missions, due to his nondescript appearance.

Behind the man stretched a long, dimly lit hallway lined with flickering oil lamps and red, burn-dust torches.

"I am Agent Watchdog. Please, follow me with haste."

The man sheathed his weapon, beckoning the team to enter, and gesturing toward the long corridor.

Jaune locked eyes with Ruby for a brief moment, before nodding silently, waving Nora and Ren back to his side.

The two wasted no time in joining them, holstering and tucking away their own weapons and glancing around at the ominous-looking building. Jaune could tell they weren't all that thrilled with the shady circumstances, but knew that they also understood their options were limited at the present.

The air was heavy as they entered the dank, musty hallway, and Jaune felt his nose wrinkle at the damp smell of mildew and rotting wood. The door slammed shut behind them with a loud ' _clank'_ , and the walls seemed to pulse slightly at their sides, creating an optical illusion of sorts that unnerved the young huntsman. However, he declined to voice his unease. Everyone was a bit on edge these days - it was to be expected.

Making their way down the long corridor, following the plainly-dressed huntsman, the four teens stuck close together, and Jaune took note of the others' reactions.

Ren seemed slightly on-edge, but one wouldn't normally be able to tell at first glance. He seemed relaxed enough with his hands hanging loosely at his sides, confident steps, and chin parallel to the floor. However, Jaune knew the teens' true nature, and he could see the stiffness in his shoulders, the twitch in his fingers - as if he were ready to draw his weapons in an instant if called to, and the nervous shifting of his pastel eyes. He knew those fuchsia orbs were taking in every detail and logging them away with an eidetic memory. It was one of Ren's less obvious talents - one Jaune knew the other didn't want to become public knowledge. He could respect that.

Nora was only slightly more reined-in than normal. She hid behind her bright wonder and childlike curiosity, but Jaune could tell that she was just as concerned and wary as her partner. While she seemed to bounce slightly as she walked, Jaune knew it only to be a way for her to expend some of her pent-up energy - preventing her from jerking around and impulsively drawing her weapon at every creak in the corridor. Nora didn't handle stressful situations well, especially ones where those she loved could be in danger. She never minded risking her own life, but she didn't do well when those she cared for were threatened in any way. She had a tendency to become slightly unhinged and do reckless, gutsy things that put her in more peril than if she had been fighting solo. It was something that they had been working on as a team. Pyrrha had always been very good at handling Nora when she…

Jaune jerked his chin to the side, as if tossing the stray thought from his head before it could embed itself in his consciousness.

 _Now. Is. Not. The. Time..._

Shifting his eyes to his immediate right, he chanced a glance at the leader of the currently separated Team RWBY. He figured she would be the most nervous of the bunch, not having any of her original teammates with her for moral or physical support.

The young huntress, however, seemed calm and collected. Her hands swayed gently at her sides, eyes glancing around and taking in the ambiance and energy of the area as if she knew nothing could touch her.

Jaune didn't know Ruby Rose very well, so maybe she was just really good at hiding her worry and nerves. Perhaps, if her sister or partner had been here, they might tell a different story about the red-hooded girl. Alas, they were not, and Jaune could only guess at what the other was feeling and thinking.

Abruptly, they turned a sharp corner and came to another steel door - this one with some sort of digital locking-mechanism on it.

Agent Watchdog keyed in some sequence of code before swiping his palm over a scanner and pressing his thumb to a small panel. A few beeps and green flashes later, the door made a cycling sound, gears and sockets grinding and moving mechanically to unlock the heavy door.

As the opening widened before them, the musty, shadowy hallway began to fill with a growing purple light. It penetrated the darkness, casting the group in an ethereal, yet slightly spooky glow.

"Right this way, Team JNPR...and Miss Rose."

* * *

The 'safe zone' was essentially a cleared-out Schnee Dust Company storage warehouse. The local huntsmen had reorganize it and converted it into a makeshift barracks, complete with a mess hall, medic bay, and brig.

Agent Watchdog, whose real name they learned to be Carmine, had led them swiftly to the provisional HQ. The base of operations turned out to really be nothing more than an old manager's office that had been emptied of its file cabinets and useless technology, then replaced with Atlesian laptops having basic capabilities for mainframe military database access.

The pair of occupants in the room glanced up from their work, blinking rapidly, eyes fatigued from staring at glowing screens for hours on end.

Jaune recognized the two faces as Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck from his classes at Beacon.

"Agents Taijitu and Boarbatusk, where might I find Agent Beowolf?"

Jaune blinked at the call signs, frowning at the startling pattern he was beginning to recognize involving certain code names.

 _What is with all of these Grimm names? Did I miss something at some point?_

The normally jovial, green-haired history professor leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head. His back gave a satisfying series of pops and cracks, a testament to his uninterrupted time spent at his desk. He removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose between a slender thumb and forefinger, before replacing the bifocals and locking eyes with the group.

"Team JNPR...Miss Rose! What a surprise. What brings you all the way back to Vale? Were you not resting and recuperating back at your respective homes?"

Five sets of eyes blinked slowly in response, before Ruby's voice stuttered out in answer, "Umm, hey there, Dr. Oobleck! We...uh...we were just passing through. We were actually planning on heading over to Mistral to...uh...tie up some loose ends?"

There was a moment of silence, a tension settling over the group like a balloon ready to burst. Had she said too much? Was it convincing enough of a white lie? Would the others catch on to their plans to tail the enemy? Each member of their ragtag team held their breaths as they waited.

"Ah! I see. Of course! You were traveling to Mistral to pay your respects and deliver the unfortunate news to Miss Nikos' family. Quite admirable and selfless of you all to do the proper thing in this tragic situation. I am so very sorry for your loss. Such a great shame..."

Time seemed to freeze around them at the disconcerting words, the lingering tension transforming into shards of ice that embedded themselves into Jaune's already aching chest. The cold realization washed over him and the gravity of Dr. Oobleck's assumption sunk into the very depths of his gut where his heart seemed to reside.

 _How could I forget…?_

Of course Dr. Oobleck would assume they were traveling to Mistral to meet with Pyrrha's family. She had haled from Haven and attended Sanctum Academy prior to being accepted into Beacon. It was true that Pyrrha had never really talked about her home life, childhood, or really anything regarding her life outside of school. However, that was no excuse for Jaune to have neglected initiation of those conversations. He should have talked to her more, gotten to know her on that personal, intimate level that he knew Nora and Ren. But he hadn't...he had, instead, opted to tail Weiss Schnee - a girl who had about as much interest in him as she did in traversing the wilds of the Forever Fall unarmed. He had allowed the young heiress to absorb all of his thoughts, time, and efforts. Pyrrha had been merely an afterthought up until a few months prior.

After that he had finally started to see her as more than just a sparring tutor and mission partner. She had always been there for him, and it had taken him that long to really open up to her and accept her as more than just a permanent fixture on their team and a buddy to hang out with on the weekends. His feelings for her had started to shift around the time they had begun preparing a few weeks in advance of the Vytal Festival Tournament. This was the same time that the pair of them had started stargazing and talking about the future.

He felt his chest swell with a fresh wave of regret, and averted his eyes to the dusty, concrete floors below. His voice was soft and somber, as he vocalized the lie that no one else seemed to have the heart to convey.

"Yeah...we're going to see her family. Like you said, it's the proper thing to do."

* * *

Agent Beowolf, as it turned out, was none other than Glynda Goodwitch - the person they were there to see.

The middle-aged woman looked much more haggard than Jaune remembered. Her golden hair, though still tucked away in her usual bun, was not as prim and neat as it had been in the past. Her clothing, though clean, was rumpled and wrinkled - as if she hadn't been able to press or hang them after washing. There were soft shadows beneath her emerald eyes, and her mouth was pinched in a tired frown that seemed to betray her lack of adequate rest.

"So, you're headed to Mistral, are you? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. The Nikos family does need to be notified of the existing circumstances. Though, I had hoped that it wouldn't fall on you four to bear the difficult news. Are you sure this is what you want? I can always send an unaffiliated party to do the messy work."

Her sharp eyes glanced over each member of the small group before her, studying for any signs of hesitation or doubt. All she received was a sharp nod and curt 'yes' from their lips.

She sighed softly in response, passing a hand over her mouth, as she scrolled through her tablet, as if searching for something. A few moments passed, her fingers tapping away at the touchscreen, before she clicked her tongue and looked up to address them once more.

"Alright, then. I have booked you six bunks on the next Atlesian warship that disembarks first thing tomorrow morning. Be ready to go at 0600 hours. I will forward the address of the Nikos residence to each of your scrolls before you arrive."

Four heads nodded in acceptance, and Jaune spoke for his team, "Thank you for your help Professor Goodwitch. And thank you for understanding. Is there anything else we need to know?"

The blonde huntress tapped a few more buttons on her screen before closing it and laying it on the top of her messy, paper-filled desk. She seemed to ponder things for a moment, leaning against the edge of the surface on braced palms, before she glanced back up and locked eyes with him.

"Well, the ship will bring you directly to Atlas HQ. From there, you should be able to rest for a bit, catch up with some of your colleagues, and locate a direct flight to Haven."

She removed her glasses with slightly shaky fingers, passing her free hand over her creased brow in exhaustion, "I'd imagine the entire journey should net you somewhere around 3 full days of travel. Mistral is a long way from Atlas, but nowhere else is flying into Haven. It's the best we can do for you at the present."

Jaune nodded in acquiescence, preparing to turn over his shoulder and lead his team to the bunk rooms for the night. However, he was stopped short by the distinct sound of Ruby's voice, laced with confusion and surprise.

"Wait, you said you had reserved six bunks. There are only four of us. Who are the other two bunks for?"

* * *

"Hey, losers? What's shakin'?"

Jaune couldn't stop the small quirk at the corner of his lips as he took in the appearances of the two colleagues who would be travelling with them to Atlas.

Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias hadn't changed much since he had last seen them, but anyone could tell that, beneath the boyish smiles, they were suffering from a similar fatigue to Glynda and Oobleck.

Apparently, the duo had remained in Vale after the evacuation from Beacon. They had agreed to assist in the mini-census and accountability of each huntsman on the roster. They had spent the better part of the last few weeks traveling around to the different safe-houses and taking roll of all active huntsmen in the area post-battle. Glynda had stated it was to get as accurate of a read as possible on who they still had left after the great tragedy that had taken so many lives that night.

As Jaune settled his travel pack on one of the several empty cots in the makeshift bunk room aboard the Atlesian military airship, he turned to the duo, as they seemed to head to their own respective beds.

"Hey Neptune, Sun...it's good to see you two. I hear you're joining us on our journey to Mistral."

The blue-haired huntsman laid his weapon-holster down on the table beside his cot, before pulling the combat goggles from his head and dropping them on the nightstand to his left. He nodded, flashing a smile, as he proceeded to go about removing his wine-colored jacket.

Sun chuckled in his raspy tone, kicking off his sneakers, before taking a seat and moving to unwrap the bandages from his calves, "Yeah, we're headed back to Mistral to join the rest of our team. Apparently, Atlas is the only way to get there that doesn't involve sedating my partner over there for the entire journey."

There was a short, indignant shout from said partner, and an empty dust cartridge came sailing for the faunus' head.

"Hey, I resent that...and have no idea to what you could be referring!"

The two bickered briefly, and Jaune took the distraction to glance over at the other members of his group.

Ren and Nora had chosen bunks beside one another, and were currently seated, shoulder-to-shoulder on the one the pastel-eyed huntsman had claimed. They spoke in hushed tones, but Jaune didn't miss Nora's chin dip slightly, her eyes closing on a sigh. He watched as Ren's arm came up instinctively to wrap around her trembling shoulders, thumb rubbing soothing circles on the pale flesh just above her elbow guard.

The two were so natural with each other, and that was something Jaune envied of the pair. They were in a constant state of denial, but any fool could see the love and affection existing between the childhood friends. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time until they realized it for themselves.

Jaune felt the ache in his chest swell painfully, and he moved a gloved hand to rub mindlessly at his sternum, as he went about the task of removing his armor piece-by-piece. As he placed each section of the padded steel on the shelves beside his cot, his mind betrayed him, drifting back to a time when the fingers that unhooked and displaced each segment were far more slender and undeniably feminine.

There had been a few times in the past year where Jaune had either been too injured, sore, or otherwise unable to remove his own armor after some of his and Pyrrha's more rigorous training session. On those occasions, the redhead would not hesitate to assist him, her nimble, spandex-clad fingers working his defenses loose with a touch more gentle than he had ever anticipated. She would always treat his equipment with the utmost care and respect, ensuring that each piece was removed, wiped-down, and stored in the appropriate manner to guarantee its longevity.

Jaune had never really taken the time to appreciate her diligence and care with the lengthy process. Now that he would never have those moments again, he had all the time he needed to reflect on those nights. He just wished he could refrain from reminiscing until after they had completed their mission.

"Hey, Jaune…"

He startled slightly, head whipping in the direction of the soft voice, before he recognized it as his female teammate.

Nora stood before him, her weapon-holster, shoes, and gloves removed - one hand extended before her, where it rested on his left shoulder from behind. Her pale, slender fingers curled against the black and orange cotton, turquoise eyes, filled with sadness and concern, locked onto his back as if studying something unseen to the naked eye.

"Come sit with us...please?"

Her voice resounded with a note of anxiety - as if she were afraid he would decline and retire without a word. Nora wasn't generally one to reach out to others for comfort or to engage in serious conversation, but Jaune also understood that, with the loss of Pyrrha, someone had to step up and be that guiding force.

Jaune felt a different type of sadness blossom behind his ribs at the uncharacteristically mature display from his normally carefree and smiling teammate. He had known that this conversation would eventually find him - that he wouldn't be able to avoid it indefinitely. He had just wished he could be have been a little closer to sorting out his emotions and, ultimately, a little nearer to accepting the reality of their present situation.

Lifting a callused hand, Jaune covered her slighter fingers with his own, giving them a firm squeeze of reassurance. He nodded wordlessly, locking onto those blue-green eyes, silently conveying his support and agreement. Dropping his hand, he turned back over his shoulder, finishing his armor and weapon maintenance routine.

As he placed the last piece of polished armor on the shelf above his cot, Jaune took a cleansing breath, kicking off his sneakers, and tugging the hoodie from his torso. He quickly changed out his orange t-shirt for a clean grey one, pulling it over his disheveled hair and adjusting it over his tapered waist. He removed his cross-belts, allowing his jeans to sling low on his hips, before running long fingers through the wavy, golden strands that hung in his eyes.

Sighing softly, he turned back toward his teammates, pacing past Neptune and Sun - who were currently preparing for bed.

 _Which is what we should all be doing…_

As he reached the cot where Ren and Nora sat, side by side, he took a seat on the bed across from them. He faced them with a trained expression of fake nonchalance, not wanting to appear as torn-up as he really felt. It wouldn't be good for their leader to appear unfit for his duty. They were depending on him to be strong, unshakable, and supportive. He couldn't do that if he didn't push away those dangerous emotions and threatening memories.

Resting his elbows on the tops of his thighs, Jaune clasped his hands before him, dipping his chin to stare at the pristine tiles below, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

He could feel Nora and Ren's eyes burning into the top of his skull with all of their unasked questions. He knew he shouldn't distance himself from them the way he had been in the recent weeks, but he really wasn't sure how else to cope with his pain. Actually, who was he kidding? He wasn't coping - he was avoiding, detaching, forgetting...or at least trying his damnedest to do so.

He had already spent countless nights replaying that fateful, final scene over and over again in his vulnerable mind. He remembered that first, and only, kiss - Pyrrha's gloved palms on his cheeks, fingers trembling as they grasped him tightly - just this side of painful. He had tasted her desperation, her frustration, and her resignation. Her lips were soft, gentle, and beautifully inexperienced, but the shattering of her breath across his own had sent a thrill down his spine that guided his hands to her waist and pulled her against him. Her warmth had washed over and through him, causing his heart to swell in his chest and a heat, one he hadn't remembered feeling for any other girl, to pool in his belly. His fingers had tingled against the tiny strip of bare flesh above her hips, between the hem of her corset and the crimson fabric of her silk sash. The tiny whimper that had escaped her throat, breaking against his panting lips, had wracked through his entire body, his grip tightening in response. Then the contact had ended, her soft apology breaking his heart in ways he didn't know it could even fracture, and then there had been the cold metal and claustrophobic darkness of the rocket-propelled weapon's locker...

He had never realized it before, but Pyrrha had affected him for quite some time. She had left tiny, razor-fine cuts and bruises all over his heart. Now he had lost her, and her stars were lighting up the night sky like a lunar beacon. He had never realized that she could shine so brightly. He had been too distracted by the stars that had captivated them after their nightly training sessions...too busy searching the heavens for undiscovered constellations to realize that he had the brightest and warmest star lying right beside him. Now she was gone...and she had taken a little bit of his soul with her.

His thoughts were interrupted by Nora's gentle, yet deliberate words, "We're worried about you, Jaune. You haven't talked about her in weeks. You haven't talked about much of anything since you called us to Patch at the start of this mission. I know you're hurting. We all are. But you can't keep going like this."

Jaune let his eyes fall shut, lids squeezing against the tears that burned behind them. She wasn't wrong. What he was doing was unquestionably self-destructive and counter-intuitive to his emotional well-being. It would be impossible for him to move on to any modicum of a normal, fulfilling life again if he continued with this damning mindset. The right thing would have been to talk it out - spill his guts to his trusted teammates and friends - and begin the healing process.

But he just couldn't do it. He wasn't strong enough, brave enough, or determined enough to confront those agonizing truths. He hadn't even asked how it had happened. He didn't really feel like knowing was going to change anything, so he had refrained from inquiring. The others had likely though it strange, but they hadn't offered up any information, assuming they possessed anything of note.

Jaune cleared the thick knot from his throat, swallowing around the lump of emotion, as he formed ragged, husked words.

"Look, I don't know what happened back there on the tower and, honestly, I don't think I'm ready to hear it, either. Part of me wants to pretend this never happened - that it's all a dream and I'll wake in my bed at Beacon to another boring school day. Sometimes I think that's the mindset that I have to have to get through this mission with a clear head."

He noted the deep sigh from Nora across from him, glancing up to catch the sag of her shoulders and the dip of her chin. Her hands were flattened and upturned before her, turquoise eyes scanning over her bare palms as if searching for some answer to an unstated question. Her words were soft, and Jaune nearly missed them.

"I miss her, too. But you can't keep pretending she might come back. It's not healthy."

Those pale eyes flicked up to meet his own, locking on with an intensity he hadn't expected from her, based on her previous tone, "You have to start moving forward, Jaune. She's gone."

Pain flared in his chest, and his stomach turned, threatening to expel its contents onto the tiles below. He swallowed around the bile that climbed up his throat, feeling it burn its way back down with each contraction of his esophagus. The words fell from his lips like acid.

"Sometimes, I think I'm ready to remember...ready to learn the truth. I psyche myself up for it, even prepare to reach out to Ruby. Then, for a brief moment, I freeze. And that moment is just enough to sabotage any efforts I've made. I see her face, hear her voice, and remember how she smelled, and the warmth in her touch at the end...and I can't bring myself to do anything but shut back down and retreat from it. I'm not ready to experience it yet...that pain...that grief."

As Jaune lowered his head once more, bracing his hands on his knees to stand, he was interrupted by the man at Nora's side.

"What, so we just go on pretending that everything's okay?" Ren said flatly, unbuttoning the toggles on his tunic-style shirt as he rose to his feet, "So we can continue ignoring the pain until it builds and festers, choosing the most inopportune moment to make us implode upon ourselves?"

Jaune was startled into silence at the curt, brutal words of his male teammate. Normally, Lie Ren was the strong, silent sentinel of their group. He would speak when it mattered, and when he thought he could contribute genuinely useful information. To hear his frustrated statement manifested fresh shards of ice within the pit of Jaune's stomach, his breath tight in his chest as he realized what he was doing, not only to himself, but to his surviving teammates.

The dark-haired huntsman continued, undeterred by his leader's stunned silence, "If you're so damned concerned about completing this mission with a clear head, then why do you feel the need to bottle everything up?"

He nearly ripped the shirt from his shoulders, irritably digging through his pack for his clean, white t-shirt, "Why must you stamp it down into something so volatile, so flammable, that when it finally reaches its critical peak, you will be absolutely powerless to prevent it from putting yourself, and the rest of us, in unnecessary danger?"

Jaune almost couldn't believe his ears, and he could only watch through wide, cerulean eyes as his teammate jerked the fabric over his head, smoothing it over the lean planes of his trim abdomen.

Then, with clenched fists and trembling shoulders, Ren dealt the finishing blow.

"Is that what you want? To lose another member of our team? Or are you so eager to join her in death, that you would be willing to throw your own life away so needlessly?"

The silence that followed Ren's outburst could have been a thunderhead, saturated to burst and drown the entire room in pure, unaltered anger and frustration. It was as if the five occupants of the room were frozen, the shock and disbelief settling over them like a haze.

It was Nora who moved first, her petite, slender hand curling lithe fingers in the thin fabric of Ren's white shirt, tugging him back to his seat beside her on the cot. Her other hand moved to cup his chin, turning his face toward her, turquoise locking onto fuchsia with a fierce look of concern, "Ren, it's gonna be alright. I think Jaune understands now. Don't get yourself so worked-up. That's _my_ job..."

The dark-haired huntsman deflated under her touch, as her fingers traced over the crease of his brow, smoothing out the frown lines and drawing a thumb over his left temple. Her digits coasted back toward his crown, threading gently through the small lock of pink hair that decorated the left side of his head. She smiled softly, eyes coaxing him to a state of calm, "We're not going to lose anyone else, Ren. I promise you that."

Jaune felt his heart swell at the pure, untainted energy that flowed between his two teammates. It was almost as if their auras were reaching out and touching one another, Nora's fingers working the tension from Ren's jaw, neck, and shoulders - the negativity practically melting off of him.

Jaune had never seen anything like the relationship the two before him shared - it wasn't quite family, but it wasn't just friendship, either. Nora had always said they weren't _'together-together'_ , but Jaune wondered at the truth in that statement...for there was no way they were _'just friends'._ But he wouldn't pretend to understand the dynamics in the different relationships of those around him. That wasn't his area of expertise. He was too emotional, too sensitive and immature to really understand the finer details of human interaction.

The one who would have been able to explain it to him was no longer available for comment...

Pyrrha had been the most level-headed and logical person he had ever met, and Jaune had respected that about her - admired it, even. She had always been the voice of reason when everything seemed so mixed-up and out of control. She had been the glue that held their team together - the constant support to each of her teammates in their times of need.

She didn't deserve to go out like she had - it was a death that might as well have been in vain with the amount of purpose it had served.

Jaune figured that was why he was having such a difficult time accepting the loss, why he just couldn't seem to put it behind him and move on from the gnawing feeling of empty hope. It was a hope that, somehow, some way, he would be able to bring her back. He knew it was a crazy, baseless notion, but he just couldn't seem to relinquish it. Part of him knew, on some deep, instinctual level, that there had to be something...anything...that could reverse the situation and restore his broken team.

Even if it was a pointless dream, it wasn't one he was ready to give up on just yet.


	3. It Only Hurts When I Breathe

**Chapter 3: It Only Hurts When I Breathe**

* * *

 _To say they were a mess would have been a complete understatement. They were a walking disaster._

 _Jaune was fairly certain he had scrambled eggs in his hair, ketchup painting his left shoulder and watermelon caked on his right. He had some sort of mystery meat on his knees, and turkey grease smeared down his back. The pungent scent of grape soda was thick in his nose, and his shoes stuck to the floor with every step he took. All four of them were a walking abstract painting, brushed in technicolor filth that looked as if they had been dipped in watercolor oil paints._

 _But he could honestly say he had never had more fun in his life._

 _There had been something so liberating about flinging his half-eaten BLT sandwich and watching it slap and smear mayonnaise against Ruby's pale cheek - the look of pure, unadulterated shock peeling across her normally jovial features._

 _It had been a declaration of war, but also the beginning of the best day ever._

 _Even though the battle hadn't turned out in his team's favor, the 'walk of shame' back to their dorm found smiles on all of their faces, and laughter filling the air like music._

 _Nora's laugh pierced through the space like a bell - loud, vibrant, and ringing. She laughed like a child being tickled._

 _Ren's laugh was more subdued - a gentle chuckle, deep and reverberating in his smooth baritone. He laughed like he was holding back a hurricane._

 _Then there was Pyrrha. The redhead's laugh was exactly like her - elegant, mature, and filled with honest joy. Her laugh could warm your heart and bring a smile to your face, even if you were in a sour mood. Pyrrha laughed with her whole body, shoulders quaking, and slender fingers lifting to cover her mouth, as if attempting to muffle the enchanting sounds. In that moment, when Pyrrha allowed her happiness to shine through, she was no longer a warrior. She was a woman - delicate, feminine, and shining light like a star._

 _Jaune couldn't help but stare._

 _Upon reaching their dorm room, parting ways with Team RWBY with waves and high-fives, Team JNPR all raced for the bathroom at the same time. Jackets, vests, and ties were tossed in the large hampers, shoes kicked haphazardly into one of the shower stalls, and dress shirts unbuttoned and discarded to reveal sticky torsos and stained camisole tops._

 _Ren started the shower that their shoes occupied, drawing the curtain back to reveal the large stall. He stood with a hand under the spray, waiting on the temperature to reach an acceptable heat. Nora wasted no time collecting soaps, shampoos, and bath sponges - placing them in a neat pile beside the large Jacuzzi tub at the end of the row of shower stalls. Pyrrha set about collecting fresh towels from the rack across the room, unfolding them and draping them over the bars above the showers._

 _Jaune chuckled softly, working the leather belt from his trousers, before snatching up a sponge and lathering it with hand-soap. He watched as the others went about preparing, eyebrow quirking when he noticed Nora beginning to fill the giant Jacuzzi tub with sudsy water, snickering all the while. He narrowed his eyes, before catching her own scheming ones. She lifted a finger to her lips, as if to silence him, and Jaune knew instantly that she was up to no good._

 _He tilted his head in askance, but she merely wiggled her brows above her turquoise eyes - blue-green orbs sparkling with mischief._

 _Jaune had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he could do nothing but smile at the immature and nostalgic way in which his teammate intended to continue their streak of bad behavior. Taking the sponge in his hand, he began to scrub at the sticky film coating his belt, knowing that if he let it sit for too long, it would turn to a glue-like substance that would be much more difficult to clean. They had class the next day, and he didn't want to be smelling like root beer in the middle of History of Grimm, listening to Professor Port babble on about Beowolves and Creeps._

 _Nora's war cry of_ _ **'Banzai!'** followed by a surprised shout broke his concentration, and he glanced up to witness the carrot-top, sitting chest-deep in the Jacuzzi, yanking Ren in to join her - both fully clothed and resembling wet rats. He took a moment to appreciate the startled expression of irritation on his male teammate's face, before it began to morph into a determined look of vengeance._

 _In an uncharacteristic display of childlike impulse, Ren brought both hands out of the steaming water to press down on the top of Nora's head, effectively dunking her under the surface with the weight of his lunge. The two seemed to splash and fight, kicking up waves and splattering liquid onto the floor in their carelessness._

 _Suddenly, movement on his right peripherals drew Jaune's attention from the display, and all the warning he got was a streak of red and black, before he found himself ass over tea-kettle and sinking into the steamy waters of the tub. He rose back up, gasping for air, azure eyes flashing widely as he attempted to form a grasp on the situation._

 _Then he heard it - that rich, melodic laugh flowing from Pyrrha's lips, and he knew what she had done._

 _Pyrrha had charged him and shoved him into the Jacuzzi tub to join their other teammates. Now she was perched on the ledge, weight on her right hip, and her mouth covered with one hand - her other bracing itself on the tiles below. And she was laughing her ass off like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen._

 _Jaune wasn't sure whether to be shocked and offended or amazed and amused at her sudden playfulness and lapse in maturity. He decided to feel amused, but project irritation, his head and the crests of his trouser-clad knees the only parts of him breaking the surface of the murky water. He trained a frown on his features, fighting the bubble of laughter that churned in his chest, and turned to level his green-eyed teammate with a fake scowl, sapphire eyes burning with a manufactured anger._

 _The laughter began to die down before him, and Pyrrha's verdant eyes seemed to blink with a tinge of uncertainty. Her hand fell away from her lips, and she tilted her head in growing concern._

 _Jaune could see that his ruse was working, as she straightened marginally before him, an apology falling from her lips._

 _"Jaune, I'm sorry...I just thought…Agh!"_

 _The blonde seized his opportunity, reaching out with wet, lightning-fast hands to grip firmly to her bare, bent elbows. He jerked sharply, pitching the redhead into the tub in an extremely ungraceful manner, rolling with his momentum to hold her under for a few, long seconds._

 _When she finally came sputtering back to the surface, her crimson bangs were plastered to her forehead and cheeks, and her mouth opened widely to gasp for a lungful of air. Nora laughed off to the right, continuing her underwater spar with Ren, but Jaune couldn't really pay them any mind._

 _His blue eyes were fixed on the woman before him, her pale shoulders heaving with disbelief and adrenaline, slender fingers rising to smooth soggy, blood-red strands away from her long, damp lashes. Her lips pulled apart in a crooked grin, her brilliant green eyes locking onto him with an intensity that rivaled any he'd seen from them in the past. She seemed the perfect combination of surprised and proud._

 _He felt her biceps ripple beneath his strong hands, where they still locked around the bends in her arms, as she moved to a kneeling position before him. One of her pale thighs brushed against his ankle, as she rose to her knees. Water pooled around her narrow waist, lapping against the thin cotton of her black camisole, as she reached out to grip his bare shoulders for balance. Her long arms stretched out before her, and Jaune felt a strange thrill in his chest as she towered over him. Before he had time to ponder it, though, one of her nimble hands was reaching for his face, and his eyebrows shot up at the sensation of smooth, cool fingertips in his hair._

 _Then, just as quickly as it had been there, the touch retreated, "Sorry, you had something in your hair. I think it was a biscuit at one point, though I can't be entirely sure."_

 _The offending food was flicked into the wastebasket of to the side, and her hand fell to the rim of the tub where his head rested. He felt the cool tiles against his naked back, her left hand warm against the flesh of his slick shoulder in contrast. His skin tingled beneath her touch, and he couldn't stop the shiver that coursed through him at the reaction._

 _ **What is that about…? Weird...**_

 _Shaking the haze from his head, he watched as she reached behind him to procure the sponge he had been using, as well as a container of blue shower gel. He studied her smooth, gliding motions as she popped the lid, squeezing a conservative amount of the gel onto the sponge, before working it into a lather. His nose was assaulted with the clean scent of eucalyptus and mint, then that sponge was working over the ivory flesh of her long, toned arms and shoulders and he was driven to distraction._

 _She moved the sponge in slow circles over a particularly stubborn patch of what was likely jam or honey, and it was only when Nora cleared her throat beside him that he blinked his focus away. He glanced over to lock eyes with the slighter teen, only to be met with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. Before he could protest, though, she began humming distractedly reaching for her own sponge and soap, before turning her back to further antagonize her partner, Ren._

 _It was in the moments where Jaune began to question this strange, new fixation, that the memory began to dissolve before his eyes. The nostalgic images frayed around the edges, and the last thing he saw before the dreamscape faded completely, pitching him back into the darkness of oblivion, was that sparkling pair of emerald eyes as they locked with his own._

* * *

When Jaune awoke, it was to the sound of running water, the smell of frying bacon, and the dim stream of a faraway light. The room was bathed in a soft, patina glow, whatever dreams may have been now disappearing as his mind focused in on the heavy weight that rested against the heart sinking in his chest.

Pulling the blanket over his head, he allowed himself to soak in those few moments of stolen peace - the seconds right before the world would come crashing back around him and break his spirit once more.

In those short, quiet minutes before he had to rise to meet another lonely day, he could pretend that he was back in his bed at Beacon, listening to the soft spray of the shower running across the room as Pyrrha began her regular routine just before dawn. She had always been the first to rise, claiming that meditation and a hot shower was good for the soul and helped regulate your sleep cycles.

He could pretend that there was an underlying sweetness to the aroma wafting through the bedroom, a sign that Ren was making pancakes or waffles for the third time that week - since Nora loved them and Ren loved making her smile.

He could believe, even if it was for the briefest of moments, that the last several weeks had never happened. It was a beautiful, transient, heartbreaking feeling...because Jaune was now having a much harder time convincing himself of the obvious lies.

Sliding his trembling fingers up to grasp the edge of the threadbare, grey blanket, he dragged the thin fabric away from his tired features. Rolling onto his back, he peeled his eyes open to stare blankly at the metallic ceiling above his bed. The lumpy pillow felt awkward beneath his aching neck, and the unforgiving weaving of the standard-issue, military-grade cot betrayed the fact that this definitely was not his bed back at Beacon.

He let loose a tight breath between clenched teeth, setting his jaw in a vice that barely succeeding in holding back the flood of emotions that threatened to bust through his normally tight barricades. He knew he should really stop humoring these morning reveries, but he still wasn't ready to let go of them. To Jaune, those few, brief moments of reprieve almost made his entire day worth facing - if not only to make it to the next half-sleep state to relive them all again. It was like he was living from one make-believe minute to the next. It was only a matter of time before those stolen moments caught up to him.

He rubbed a callused palm hastily over his tight frown, passing his fingers over a roughly stubbled chin and lip. He needed to shower and shave - he was growing a bit lax in the hygiene department, and that was unacceptable. His mom and sisters would not approve.

With another tense breath, he levered himself upright, raking his slim fingers through tangled gold, and dragging blunt nails across his sensitive scalp. Drawing one leg to his chest, he rested his forearm on the crest of his knee, tilting his head to the side and listening for more audio clues. He noticed that Neptune and Sun were still asleep on their cots, and they didn't seem to be stirring anytime soon. Nora and Ren's cots were empty, and Ruby's looked like it hadn't been slept-in at all.

The shower had stopped, replaced with a slow, irritating _'drip, drip'_ that signaled the imminent arrival of one of the other members of the group. Sure enough, the metallic bathroom door across the room opened, emitting a thin stream of fluorescent light, before a small figure plunged itself into the darkness of the bunk room.

Jaune's eyes adjusted, and he quickly averted them, as he realized the identity of the other person.

"Oh, good morning, Jaune...sorry...I guess I should have called out a warning. I thought you were still sleeping."

His eyes flickered back up without thinking, and he was met with the dripping, shivering display of Ruby Rose, wrapped in nothing but a thin, white towel that barely reached her knees. Her hair was plastered to her cheeks like soggy, burgundy ribbons, and her flesh was so pale she nearly matched the fabric of the terry-cloth that concealed her bare body. He quickly refocused his gaze on the tiles below, moving to throw back the covers and stand, busying himself with his morning routine. He didn't want her to think he was staring - didn't want to make her uncomfortable or seem like a pervert. She was like a little sister to him, and making things awkward was the last thing he wanted to do.

He located his travel bag, digging around for a moment, before snatching up his toothbrush, a change of clothes, and his electric razor. Unable to form any kind of adequate reply to her embarrassed greeting, he made his way past her to the room she had just exited. Grasping the cool knob in his hand, he glanced at the wall-clock, noting the time as just past 0700 hours.  
 _  
We must have just taken-off for Atlas. That's probably what woke me…_

As he tugged the door open, damp, humid air washing over him with the action, he made to step forward and leave the girl behind to her business. But a damp hand on his shoulder stopped him, freezing him in his tracks, the moisture seeping into the fabric of his thin t-shirt at the contact.

"Jaune…"

He felt himself stiffen at the soft utterance of his name, her grip tightening slightly at the shift in his demeanor. He heard a slight rustle of fabric as she drew nearer to him, closing the distance, and wrapping long, pale arms around his slim waist. He felt his breath catch on a startled gasp, her wet hair pressed to the space between his shoulders - soaking through the flimsy cotton of his t-shirt.

"I know you're going through a lot right now...and I can understand how you might feel, at times, like there's no point to moving forward. But Jaune…"

Her voice broke on a shattered sigh, as if she were attempting to hold back tears. Whatever she had to say next obviously pained her on a level she wasn't used to, but it wasn't going to stop her, either. Her grip tightened exponentially, and Jaune could feel a heaviness in his chest at the pressure and proximity, her damp warmth leaching into him through the places where their bodies touched.

"We're here with you. We're all willing to do whatever it takes to help you. We are ready to fight for you."

Jaune could feel the hot tears burning at the backs of his eyes, blurring his vision. He clenched his teeth in a vain attempt at warding off the tremble in his lips. His hands fisted at his sides, and his chin dipped toward his chest as those small, slender hands curled against the white cotton of his shirt. His heart hammered against his chest with such force he thought it might erupt from the cage of his ribs.

But Ruby didn't stop there. Much like Ren had done the night before, her words were as a death knell, a nail in the coffin of Jaune's defenses.

"But, we're only willing to fight for you as long as _you_ are willing to fight for you..."

And on those words, Jaune couldn't fight the agony that washed over him any longer. He was still not completely awake; he was still too vulnerable, to volatile. He didn't stand a chance against the onslaught of grief that mercilessly assaulted him.

Heavy tears spilled from his azure eyes, scorching down his cheeks, as his chest heaved beneath those cool hands. He choked on broken sobs in a final, desperate act to rein in his emotions. But he was past the point of hiding now.

He could feel himself sink to his knees on the cold tiles, Ruby sliding down with him to kneel beside him. She guided his trembling body to recline against the metal door before them, wrapping his broad shoulders in her pale, slender arms. She tucked her ankles beneath her, resting her weight on her right hip, as she began to rock him in a gentle, repetitive rhythm.

He relented his burden, leaning his head against the ivory slope of her damp shoulder, breath shattering over the pale flesh. Then the words just fell from his panting lips, as if he had been dying to say them...and perhaps he had been.

"Everywhere I look...people are falling apart all over the place. Just when I think everything is going to be okay, unimaginable things happen that don't make any sense. I can't understand any of it, and I don't expect you to be able to either. It's like I'm grasping for an answer knowing that I'm not going to find it, but unable to resist at least trying."

Ruby hummed in acknowledgement, her slender fingers drawing soothing patterns at his back. She seemed to understand without further explanation, and he felt the stutter of her own breathing against his temple, as she murmured her reply.

"When someone we care about dies, it never ceases to break-down even the most unshakable of us..."

Jaune barked a dry laugh, pulling himself back and draping his weight fully against the wall, drawing his knees to his chest for balance. He rested his slim wrists over them, eyes shuttering against the weight of fresh tears, and he drew a deep breath to ease his trembling.

"It's more than that...I didn't just _'care about'_ her…"

Ruby went still beside him, the soothing motions stopped, and her breath caught, "What do you mean, Jaune?"

His bottom lip trembled pitifully as he recalled it all in his mind, trying so very hard to keep it all at arm's-length, so that he might process without losing what little was left of his composure. He buried his head in his rough palms, fisting long fingers in his shaggy hair to ground himself.

"I mean...things were...different for Pyrrha and I. The last time I saw her...before…"

He had to pause for a moment. He hadn't told anyone about how he had failed her, how things had ended for them at the foot of Beacon Tower. Ruby had information he would eventually desire...so it was only fair that she be the one in which he confided this precious treasure of a memory.

"I still don't understand why she felt the need to go back...to fight that crazy fire-lady. Pyrrha never wanted to be the hero, so that's not it - it wasn't hubris. Maybe she felt she had to make up for something. I have no idea what. But she was so determined. I tried to stop her...and when I did…"

His breath caught in his throat, fresh tears scalding down his cheeks to drip onto his already damp shirt. He felt cool, slender fingers reach over to wipe them away with a gentleness that made the tears fall harder.

"She _kissed_ me. She didn't say a word...just grabbed me and kissed me."

Ruby gasped softly beside him, before dipping her head to lock eyes with him. Her silver orbs nearly glowed in the soft light of sunrise seeping in through the glass window above the door that led to the hallway. Her face was filled with a deep understanding, the kind that comes from truly living the other person's story. Jaune might question her about that later, but for now he could barely concentrate on his own memories.

"In that moment, I _knew_...I knew she wasn't coming back...that she was going on a suicide mission. I didn't want to believe it, tried everything to stop her, but she merely apologized to me with a voice so resigned and hopeless that I almost thought she'd had second thoughts. But then she was shoving me into a locker, staring at me with those haunting green eyes...and then she was gone…"

He felt Ruby's petite hand clasp his own in a reassuring, comforting grip.

"All I could think of was why she wouldn't let me help her. She had always believed in me before...but then, in the end, it was like she couldn't depend on me at all. How am I supposed to interpret that?"

He felt the grip on his hand tighten slightly, before her other hand moved to rake through her still-damp strands of black and red, "I think she just wanted you to live. She didn't want to risk your life. I don't think she could have lived with herself if something had happened to you. She loved you, Jaune…probably since the day she met you."

A thick silence hung over the pair, as they slowly watched the night fade into dawn from their place on the cold, slick tiles. Jaune could feel his heartbeat slow to a gentle cadence in his chest, and he returned the reassuring squeeze of his fingers to Ruby's slighter hand.

"And in the end, I think I loved her, too...because she was everything I'm not..." he said softly, "and a lot...of what I hope I can be someday."

After a few more moments of silence, tears drying on his cheeks, he felt the other shift beside him. Her arms came around his shoulders this time, pulling him into a tight, warm hug, as she sighed against his throat.

Then, as her words filled the small distance between them, Jaune felt, for the first time in weeks, that he wasn't alone in his pain and grief.

"We're going to get through this, Jaune...It just may take some time."

* * *

When Jaune finally finished his shower, dressed, and suited up, the day was clear and the sun was high. He made his way out into the hallway, following the scent of bacon and eggs to what he presumed to be a small galley.

It seemed that everyone was already there, with the exception of Ruby. He figured, after their conversation and emotional exchange from earlier, she probably needed some time to herself to sort things out and recompose.

Sun and Neptune, however, didn't seem to have any real issue displaying their current moods.

"So, then she asked him, 'What's a girl gotta do to get a date with you, Sage?'"

The blonde monkey-faunus was recounting some sort of tale to Neptune, and Jaune got the sense that the conversation was probably not of the most wholesome nature. He listened with half-interest, as he made his way to the table.

Neptune rolled his eyes, swallowing a mouthful of scrambled eggs, before passing a napkin over his quirked lips, "Ah, man...this could have gone very badly, extremely quickly, and I am incredibly interested in his answer."

Jaune nodded at Ren as he took a seat, the dark-haired huntsman passing him a clean plate and gesturing toward the spread before him. There was fresh bacon, three kinds of eggs, toast with jam, honey, and butter, and what looked like some kind of grits or quick-oats. He nodded his thanks, before grabbing a utensil and serving himself a reasonable portion of each.

"No, man...his response was priceless. He looked her up and down, like he was pondering her existence. Then, he said, _'Lose the tits and grow a dick. Then you might have half a chance.'_ "

Neptune choked on his toast, his fist beating against his chest to dislodge the lump that had wedged itself in his esophagus.

Jaune merely shook his head, getting to work on the divine-smelling breakfast. It tasted as good as it looked. Ren never disappointed with bacon, and no one made eggs like Nora. If there was one thing he could always count on about Team JNPR, it was that none of them would ever starve.

Nora snorted at Sun's anecdote, the only other person at the table who reacted to the crude humor. She had finished her food and seemed to be flipping through the latest Weapons Unlimited magazine she had spotted on one of the shelves in the bunk room the previous evening.

The storytelling transformed into bickering over the passing minutes, and Jaune settled into his seat as he cleared his plate. He reached for his glass, taking a swig of orange juice, before tuning back into the debate taking place beside him.

"Sometimes I think that I should try to be more compassionate and understanding…then you start talking…"

Apparently, Neptune was growing irritated with his blonde teammate's inappropriate stories, and had regressed to throwing weak insults.

Sun responded in turn, not even batting an eye at Neptune's catty response. He merely shrugged his shoulders, winked in his teammate's direction, and smiled cheekily.

"I'm immune to haters..."

Jaune observed them with a proverbial dark cloud hanging over his head, his mind still wandering back to the dream from the previous night. He had nearly forgotten about that crazy day - the food fight, aftermath, and cleanup. He wondered why it had found its way into his dreams, but soon regretted the thought. Of course it was in his dreams - it was the day he first started falling in love with his partner. Why wouldn't it haunt his sleep?

He had recently wondered why he had still decided to pursue Weiss, even though he was developing feelings for Pyrrha. Upon further introspection, he had decided that it was likely because he didn't want to risk throwing off their team dynamic, in the event that it made Ren or Nora uncomfortable. He also wasn't sure she felt anything for him, so declined to make any moves or attempt to start anything with relation to his partner.

Speaking of Weiss...Neptune had just dropped her name, drawing his attention once more.

"Yeah, I'm pretty stoked to visit Atlas. Think I can get Weiss to show me around while we're there?"

Sun chuckled, a knowing smirk on his lips, "Oooh...gonna try to take the next step? Get to 1st base, finally?"

Neptune flushed at the thought, "C'mon, Sun...she's not that kind of girl. I wanna get to know her first. I get the feeling she's not interested in giving away her first kiss to just anyone."

Sun sputtered and choked on his tea, wiping his lips with the back of his hand as he turned shocked grey eyes to his partner, "Whoa...wait. Her _first_ kiss? You mean she's _never_ even been kissed? No wonder she's an uptight ice queen. Sister-girl needs to get laid!"

Neptune raised a palm and smacked his partner across the back of his head, causing him to choke further, "Don't talk about her like that. It's rude. Besides, I'm not just trying to get in her pants. She's someone I could really see myself going to the end with. She's sweet, mature, driven, and knows what she wants in life. I like that in a lady."

The blonde monkey-faunus chuckled loudly, wrapping a toned arm around the blue-haired huntsman's shoulders and ruffling his hair, "Aww...Neptune's whipped. Would you like a cherry to throw on top of yourself, because with your nuts you've now gifted to the frozen ice cream that is Weiss, we might just have a regular banana split! Oh, and for the chocolate syrup, you can use-"

"It's really beneficial to your health that you do _NOT_ finish that sentence," Neptune muttered with a tense frown and clenched jaw.

The threat didn't seem to phase his partner, who merely smiled widely and went back to finishing his tea, "Alright, alright...I'm kidding. Cool off, man. Just trying to lighten the mood - it's been depressing around here for weeks. It's toxic, dude."

There was a moment of empty silence, then Neptune sighed softly, as if a weight was falling onto his shoulders. He braced his elbows on the table's edge, resting his chin in an upturned palm, "I know...that's part of the reason I really want to see Weiss. She brightens my day, man. By the way, if I say something stupid around her, will you whack me on the head?"

Sun smirked, "With my favorite gun-chuck, Riyu Bang!"

Neptune did not look amused, "I thought Jingu Bang was your favorite?"

Sun waved his now drained cup in the air for a moment for emphasis, before setting it on its liner, "Details, details...anyway, speaking of my lovely red mistress, I need to go visit the gift shop and see if they have any cleaning solution. I'm running low and the shells I've been using from Vale just aren't as clean and smooth as the ones I make back at home. Wanna join me?"

Neptune nodded briefly, swallowing another bite, "Sure, just lemme finish these grits."

Sun clapped his hands in an act of finality, before rising from his seat and leaping off of the bench. Dusting off the legs of his rolled-up jeans, he nudged his partner, beckoning him to hurry, "Come on, what are you waiting for, a golden chariot? Get a move on already!"

A few more moments of bickering and complaining passed, then Sun and Neptune took their leave.

Jaune felt the silence settle over the three of them left at the table. Ren was picking at the grits on his plate, moving them around a bit to make it look like he'd eaten more than he really had. Nora looked as if she were still reading her magazine, but it had been several minutes since she had turned a page. He could tell that they were still affected by the previous night's conversation, and he sighed as he realized that he was going to have to take the first step in remedying the situation.

After reserving a moment to clear his plate by depositing it in the sink behind him, he plopped back in his seat and braced his wrists on the table before him. Glancing up, he watched as his partners began to fidget slightly under his scrutiny.

"So, what's on your minds, guys? No point in beating around the bush. Just lay it on me."

A brief period of anxious quiet passed by, then Ren was the first to break it. Placing his fork neatly across his plate, he laced his fingers, bracing his chin upon them, "We're just worried about you, Jaune. After our conversation last night, I had some time to reflect. I may have been a bit harsh with you. I apologize for that. I merely got caught up in emotion."

Jaune smiled warmly, passing his eyes over his teammate, "It's alright, Ren. I understand where you're coming from. You two have lost so much in your lives. It's pretty selfish of me to think I could just suppress everything and get away with it. That must have really frustrated you two. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry, guys."

Nora finally closed the magazine, laying it on the table and flattening her hands neatly atop it, "Jaune, what's happened to us in our lives has taught us many things about the right way to live. We've promised ourselves that we would only ever follow three main rules in our daily lives."

She raised a slender, pink-gloved hand, ticking up her index finger, "One: Never leave anything unsaid at the end of the day, for you may not have a tomorrow."

Jaune frowned softly in understanding, watching as she raised her middle finger to join the first.

"Two: Make peace with your past, so it doesn't spoil your present or sabotage your future."

Jaune could identify with the importance of that rule. He could also see how it applied to his situation. He was stuck in the past, not moving forward. His teammates recognized that. It was the main reason they were concerned for him.

Nora flicked up her ring finger, but Ren was the one who spoke this time, "And three: If you do not take the first step forward, you will always stay in the same place."

That struck a major chord with the blonde, his heart clenching low in his chest, and he felt himself deflate slightly. He exhaled on a blasting sigh, running a hand through his tangled hair, before lowering it to pass over the smooth skin of his jawline as Ren continued.

"When we lost our families in the Grimm attack on our village ten years ago, we were all each other had. They tried to separate us at one point, but we always managed to find our way back to each other. When we were finally adopted by that sheriff in the neighboring village, we thought we'd never have to worry again. We were wrong. No one is immune to death - it comes for all of us at some point."

Jaune's chest clenched at the statement, but he continued listening, knowing he needed to hear this.

Nora picked up where Ren had left off, resting her chin in the curve of her own palm, as she gesticulated softly with her free hand, "Ren and I are no strangers to heartbreak, death, or loneliness. But through all of the things we've been through, all the trauma and loss, we never allowed ourselves to detach or avoid. Bottling things up, for me at least, is a dangerous thing. I end up hurting the people I love, and that's just unacceptable."

Her fist pounded the table hard enough to rattle the stack of plates at the end, "So, if you hear nothing else, Jaune, hear this."

Her turquoise eyes blazed with an intensity he wasn't used to seeing in them, and the words that fell from her lips were no less earth-shattering.

"Whatever you do, however you deal with your pain...make sure that you don't lie to yourself."

Her voice seemed to fade out for a moment, her eyes blinking as if she were transported to another time in her life, "If you refuse to move forward...if you keep making excuses for why you can't let yourself start healing...then you'll _never_ be happy again."

Suddenly, her eyes flashed back to his own, locking onto him with a determination that left no room for misinterpretation of her words, "That's not a path you want to go down, Jaune. You deserve _so_ much more."

Jaune felt himself deflate, his eyes drawing back to the checkerboard tablecloth, fingertips tracing the cheap weaving, "How are you so sure about that? What if I don't deserve it…?"

"Jaune, what are you talking about…?"

And, finally, he spoke.

He told them everything - the things he'd seen in the Vault; the way Pyrrha had screamed as she radiated with a malevolent glow as Ozpin had cranked up the machine; the way Cinder had interrupted the process, stealing the power for herself; the moments they had run out of the building, praying that Ozpin would be okay; how Pyrrha had broken his mind and heart by deciding to return to the fray, kissing him senseless, before shoving him into cold metal and darkness, never giving him the chance to try. He recounted every single, minute detail about the entire memory, not leaving out a single bit of information.

When he was finished, he looked up at the silence, and what he saw broke his heart in two.

Nora had a hand over her lips, tears burning at the corners of her blue-green eyes, tumbling over the edges to spill down her pale cheeks as she closed them to the pain.

Ren wrapped an arm around her shoulders, swallowing thickly around his own emotion, trying to be strong for his partner, even though he looked as if he were about to crack down the middle himself.

Jaune felt a lone tear drag its way down his own cheek, and he lifted a hand to swipe it away before it could call for reinforcements.

They sat in a heavy, yet non-threatening silence for a few minutes, before Nora suddenly rose from her seat, startling Jaune slightly in the process.

She wasted no time in rounding the table, coming to stand behind the blonde, as she reached forward and latched onto his elbow. She pulled him none-too-gently into a standing position, and for a brief moment, Jaune thought she might hit him.

So it was no small shock when, instead, she wrapped her slim, yet powerful arms around his waist, pressing their bodies together and laying her forehead against his breastplate.

He hesitated for only a moment, before he raised his idle hands to encircle her narrow shoulders, stroking gently along her spine as she let out a shattered sigh.

"Jaune...I'm so sorry. There was no one rooting for you two more than I was. You both deserved so much more than the hand you were dealt. Please...don't let this break you. There is _always_ something to hope for. You just have to know where to find it."

As Jaune felt the strong presence of Ren's hand come to rest on his shoulder from behind, he soaked in the support from his teammates - his surrogate brother and sister. Nora's words wriggled their way into his heart, and he couldn't help but focus on the ones that stood out to him the most.

 _'There is always something to hope for...you just have to know where to find it.'_

Hope…

That was something that Jaune had in spades. However, he didn't think that Nora was expecting him to hope for what he did. She was probably wanting him to hope for a fresh start, a new love, a way to change the world. Those were reasonable, noble, and realistic things toward which to strive.

The problem was that all that Jaune wanted, out of anything in the world from which he could choose...was for some way to bring Pyrrha back.

Because, honestly, his future as a huntsman wasn't really worth pursuing without her there by his side.

However, this wasn't something he could share with his teammates. Really, he couldn't share it with anyone, just how seriously he was searching for this unrealistic answer.

Above all, he truly believed that it was out there...he just had to know where to find it.


	4. Ephemeral Tangibility

**Chapter 4:** _ **Ephemeral Tangibility**_

* * *

Atlas was nothing like Jaune had thought it would be.

It wasn't the barren wasteland of snow and ice he had always imagined as a child, from the stories his eldest sister had spun of her time in Atlas on missions. Though it was extremely cold, temperatures capping around 40 degrees in the sun, it was anything but a wasteland.

Built at the base of a rugged, ice-capped mountain, Atlas glowed through the murky shadows like a neon-blue beacon. Immense skyscrapers were clustered in an aggregation of buildings, creating an urban jungle that rivaled any he had ever seen. Outside of the ring of colossal high-rises spanned miles of identical, modern, apartment buildings and inns. The entire city had an incredibly industrial and unsurprisingly technological feel. The cityscape was painted in hues of slate grey, stark white, and cadet blues - the official colors of the Atlesian Military.

Jaune supposed that was what tended to happen when the entire kingdom was merged with its armed forces.

As Weiss had stated in the past, Atlas appeared to be the portrait of rigid discipline, cutting-edge technology, and clean, crisp definition. The Schnee heiress unquestionably fit in with this lifestyle.

As their group of six had exited the airship, they had been blasted with the cold air of a polar wind. Nora and Ren didn't seem to mind, having brought appropriately dust-lined coats and scarves, and Ruby was used to the cold - as winters on Patch were pretty snowy. However, Sun and Neptune were shivering and whining at the chill, blankets wrapped around their bodies to ward off the breeze. It seemed that neither were accustomed to the northern weather patterns - Neptune hailing from balmy, coastal Mistral, and Sun from the hot, desert kingdom of Vacuo. Jaune, on the other hand, was internally numb enough that the external chill didn't really register, even though he wore sufficient outerwear.

Locating a reasonably-priced inn wasn't difficult at all, as the airship had landed near the commercial district, which had several options for group lodging. The gang booked two rooms, for one night, before heading to the nearby metro station. Their first stop had then been to acquire some appropriate, dust-infused, clothing for Neptune and Sun on their brief stay in the colder climate. Once bundled against the chill, they had grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of the food trucks near the inn and set their sights on the Military HQ.

The evening sky was a dark silver, splashed with deep indigo and lilac - the monorail station almost completely hidden in a thick fog. The cool sunset was only just beginning to blur on the edges, and the chill was deepening as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

Letting out a low sigh as one gloved hand moved to rub the back of his tense neck, Jaune rolled his head to ease the ever-growing crick in the left side. The combination of perpetual grief and fatigue ensured that their journey thus far had been somewhat less than restful. The stiff, hard-back bench seats on the bullet train weren't by any means comfortable either, so he had opted to stand, steadying himself by gripping one of the overhead bars.

Nora and Ren sat together on the bench seat, staring out the window at the scenery that passed by. Neptune and Sun had managed to huddle together on the opposite seat, still acclimating to the harsh cold of the Atlesian climate. Ruby, however, had joined Jaune in standing in the aisle, her hand on the adjacent bar to the one he gripped.

They rode in silence for most of the trip, watching as different passengers entered and exited at the several stops along the route to the center of town. Most wore the traditional whites and greys of the government-issue uniforms. Some wore prim and professional business attire of blacks, whites, and greys. Very few dressed in casual attire, causing their ragtag group to stick out like a sore thumb.

Atlas wasn't exactly a tourist location.

As they reached the final stop before their destination, Jaune allowed his thoughts to wander to their objective. They needed to procure a means of travel to Mistral, which Glynda had stated shouldn't be difficult, considering the military was flying to all ends of the kingdoms, daily. Seeking out General Ironwood seemed the logical option, but Jaune wondered if he might be too busy to assist them. Jaune didn't want to think about what would result if that were the case.

The scenery flew by in a blur, and Jaune found his eyes unfocusing slightly, his gaze settling on his reflection in the reinforced glass.

He looked like hell.

He had darkening shadows beneath his dulled, hollow eyes; his shoulders sagged in a manner they never had before, as if the world sat upon them; his clothes were fitting a little looser than normal, a testament to the fact that he wasn't eating properly; and his hair hung in shaggy shards against his temples and cheekbones, since he hadn't had a trim in almost three months. No wonder the others were worried about him. He resembled death warmed-over.

He suddenly envied the child he had been when he had attended his opening ceremony at Beacon Academy - the wonder and pride that had filled him with hope for the future. He had only ever wanted to be a hero - to be just like his father, grandfather, and so on before them. He came from a long line of warriors, and he had never thought to want anything more from his life. The thirst he'd possessed to prove everyone wrong and succeed at Beacon Academy had been the strongest emotion he had ever felt up until now.

Oh, if he could go back to that time and see himself today...the crumbling, shrinking shell of a man who merely trudged through the motions of existing. He was a stupid, selfish idiot who couldn't protect what he loved, even when it mattered most.

He drew in a shaky breath, cutting off that train of thought before he could sink so far into it that he would have trouble coming back to the here and now. There was no good reason to torture himself with the _'what if's'_ or _'if only's'_ on their current mission.

He sighed softly, lowering his chin, blonde hairs tickling his nose as he allowed his sapphire eyes to slide shut in regret.

* * *

" _You need to stop squirming, Jaune...it'll be uneven."_

 _Gentle, long-fingered hands sifted through his shaggy strands. Pulling sections away between pressed digits, the opposite hand held sharpened shears, snipping the excess length to tumble against the towel draped across his broad shoulders._

 _When Jaune had marched into Team JNPR's dorm room that evening, stating he needed to get a trim, Pyrrha had surprised him when she had stated she was capable of giving haircuts. His eyes had narrowed, wondering if she was joking, or teasing him. However, when she had disappeared into the bathroom, returning with golden shears and a large towel, he had reevaluated his concern._

 _So there he now sat, balanced on the edge of the large Jacuzzi tub, with a towel secured about his torso and damp strands sliding through the long, nimble fingers of his partner. She hummed softly to some nameless tune as she worked, green eyes blinking slowly in concentration. It was only a few days before the dance, and Jaune wanted to look his best for the Sunday evening event, even though he hadn't found a date._

 _ **Who knows, maybe I'll be able to talk Weiss into at least one dance…**_

 _His thoughts were interrupted as those cool fingers dragged delicately along his scalp, displacing golden strands as she stepped around to his other side. Her socked feet brushed along the tiles with a soft, feathery sound, and the supple sway of her hips knocking against his elbow._

" _Sorry."_

 _The apology, though clipped, held a hint of amusement, and Jaune couldn't help but smile softly at the sound, words falling thoughtlessly from his own lips._

" _You say that a lot, you know?"_

 _Her movements stuttered and slowed, though didn't cease, and he wondered if maybe he had been a bit too bold in his speech. But his fears were assuaged as a rich chuckle found his ears, smoothing his concerns away, as she responded with restrained mirth._

" _I'm sorry...it's just a habit. I'm used to dealing with other people's bruised egos and hurt feelings. It's second nature to apologize."_

 _Jaune didn't know why, but her reasoning made him feel sad for her. It was as if she were living in a constant state of cautiousness, walking on eggshells around others, always careful not to step on any toes. That wasn't a healthy way to live, in a perpetual state of perplexity over wounding others._

 _Pyrrha was a strong, self-sufficient, and altruistic woman, always looking out for her teammates as if they were her biological family. Jaune had grown to appreciate the special treatment, and he could tell that Nora and Ren held a fondness for it as well. They weren't used to having someone to constantly look after them._

 _Her hands moved to his nape, the cool metal of the shears dragging against the sensitive flesh there and causing him to shiver slightly._

 _That soft chuckle reached him once more, but this time it was close enough to gust against his throat, Pyrrha having bent down to better observe her work. This prompted another shiver from the blonde, and those questing hands drew away briefly, a voice of mild disapproval breaking against his ear, before she straightened._

" _Jaune, you really can't move so much. I might accidentally cut you. These are sharper than they look."_

 _She waved and spun the shears around her narrow fingers, her free hand raking through his wavy strands to gauge her progress so far. He watched her work through the mirror across from him, her pale, toned arms arcing over his shoulders with smooth, elegant lines. She wore her basic lounge clothes - thin, black camisole hugging her tapered waist, and red-cotton shorts displaying her endlessly long, ivory legs. It was still a little strange to see her in anything other than her school uniform or huntress attire, since she was normally first to rise and last to bed, but he did his best not to stare too obviously._

 _His feelings toward Pyrrha were complicated, to put it lightly. There was absolutely no denying that she was beautiful - probably the most aesthetically perfect woman he had ever seen. Her hair was the color of rose petals, and equally as soft; her unblemished skin was the color of alabaster, and her toned, delineated muscles shifted and coiled beneath that flesh, rippling like silk; though she was tall and athletic for a girl of her age, she emanated femininity and grace in a way that not even Weiss Schnee could emulate. Jaune would be lying if he said he didn't feel a slight buzzing under his skin when her corset rode up to reveal a peak of her sculpted abs, or when he entered the room to find her sliding the bronze armor from her long, slender legs while preparing for bed._

 _But the aspect of her appearance that truly commanded his attention, were her eyes. Those emerald orbs were etched like gemstones, sparkling with amusement and narrowed in concentration._

 _Jaune had never met anyone with more expressive eyes than Pyrrha Nikos._

 _Currently, those eyes were trained on his sideburns, trimming them with an attention to detail that brought her face very near to his own. Her exhalations brushed over his jawline, and he caught the scent of spearmint on her breath from the menthol tea Ren had prepared for her earlier to offset a potential sore throat. He pulled in a tight breath of his own, willing his muscles not to twitch or jerk against the rippling sensation it drew from his flesh._

 _Ever since the beginning of the semester, he had started looking at her differently. He wasn't sure what exactly had triggered it, though he suspected it had something to do with their impromptu food fight on their last day of the spring break. There had been such a vibrancy and light about her that he hadn't seen before, and it had been infectious. He had garnered an unexpected fixation for his redheaded partner, and wasn't sure how to feel about it. The last thing he wanted to do was make things awkward with their team dynamic, and he was pretty sure she didn't see him as anything more than a friend anyway._

 _So, he devoted his time to wooing Weiss and taking his chances on the Ice Queen, doing his best not to get too distracted by the girl who was probably the best friend he had ever had. Friendship...that was another thing he didn't want to risk losing. No one was a more supportive force in his life than his partner._

" _So...Pyrrha, how did you pick up this skill? It isn't really a talent I thought you would possess."_

 _There was that soft, velvety chuckle again, tickling against his cheek, before skittering down his spine._

" _Well, it's quite silly, actually. There is a long-standing trend that women in Mistral marry and start families at a very young age. You could say that I'm nearly 'past my prime', even."_

 _Jaune's eyes widened, his head beginning to turn, before pale fingers jerked just enough on flaxen strands to still him._

 _Her voice held a nostalgic lilt to it, with a hint of hesitancy that caused Jaune's hairs to stand on end - he didn't like when Pyrrha showed insecurity. It was unnatural and uncharacteristic of the otherwise confident and strong redhead._

" _I believe the average age for marriage is sixteen in Haven - most of my classmates at Sanctum were engaged or married upon combat school graduation. I had decided to wait."_

 _Jaune blinked slowly at the tension behind her words - she tried to mask it with amusement and nonchalance, but he could read the underlying hint of acerbity in her tone. Pyrrha didn't seem to align her views with those of Mistral - at least not on the idea of marrying at fifteen years of age. He wondered if maybe that was part of her motivation to attend Beacon Academy in Vale instead of Mistrals' Haven Academy._

" _Since the tradition is so prevalent in my hometown, my mother thought it prudent to teach me as many domestic skills as possible before I left home for Beacon. One of those skills was cutting a man's hair. I used to practice on my father…"_

 _That was when he noticed her pitch tilt toward sadness, and he knew, without asking, that something had happened with her father. He was hesitant to touch on a rather sensitive subject, knowing that Pyrrha was such a private person. He let the silence linger for a few moments, pulling in a breath to broach the discussion, but his teammate seemed to beat him to it._

" _He died three years ago. He had an aneurysm while returning home from work one evening. He was dead before he hit the ground."_

 _Jaune frowned deeply, his chest tightening, as he swallowed thickly around a knot forming in his dry throat, "Pyrrha, I-"_

" _It's alright. I've moved past my grief now, Jaune. I can talk about him without feeling pain anymore."_

 _He felt the frown start to melt from his face, those long, pale fingers moving through his hair once more. They raked along his scalp with just the right amount of pressure to ease the tension from his shoulders, and draw his eyes closed at the sensation. Jaune supposed those nimble fingers could lull him to sleep if he allowed them the time._

" _Thank you, Pyrrha."_

 _Her fingers stumbled slightly, pausing as she hummed a small noise of inquiry._

 _Jaune lifted a callused hand to grasp one of her narrow wrists, squeezing gently with a reassuring grip, "Thank you for the haircut," his thumb stroked gentle circles along the soft inside of her left wrist, "Thank you for telling me about your father...for trusting me with that memory. Thank you for everything, Pyrrha. You're the best partner I could have."_

 _The final thing Jaune registered, as the memory began to break apart around him, was the gentle, rich sound of Pyrrha's voice._

" _Aww, Jaune...such a romantic. Now what did I tell you about not holding still..?"_

* * *

He must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing he knew there was a gentle hand shaking his shoulder. He blinked his tired eyes open, turning slightly to see Ruby tugging at the pauldron portion of his armor.

"Come on, Jaune...we're here."

Her silver eyes were equally tired, and he knew she was also running on energy fumes and determination of will at this point. She hadn't slept at all the night before, and had already experienced a very emotional day. She required some much-needed rest before she collapsed. He made a mental note to ensure that she slowed down and got a full-night's sleep before they departed for Mistral.

As the train lunged to a halt, their group exited the car, making their way down the tunnel and out of the terminal. The corridor opened into a wide-open, massive station. One wall had clocks in all time-zones stretched across its width. There was a gargantuan chandelier hanging from the center of the grey-and-black marble ceiling, and the white floors were polished to the point that Jaune could see his reflection in them.

There were hundreds of people milling about - some standing in line for kiosks to buy tickets, others waiting by their luggage for their departure time. The white noise of the crowd buzzed around them as Jaune fell into step beside Ruby and Nora. Weaving through the dense throngs of locals, they began making their way to the front exit.

Reaching the shallow staircase that led out to the street-level, polished quartz shimmered against the radiant glow of manufactured sunlight. Dust crystals imbued with energy to cast a synthetic glow of amber, vermillion, and sienna mimicked the sunsets that the cold, arid climate was denied the luxury of displaying naturally. A revolving door opened to the busy avenue beyond the ornate lobby area, and the sight that greeted the group was stunning.

The skyscrapers they had seen in the distance now towered over them, the windows like hundreds of tiny mirrors reflecting the neon glow of blue ribbon lights that framed each one. The chrome structures disappeared into the low-lying clouds, obscuring the tops and fabricating an illusion of infinity.

The icy, Atlesian wind slapped against Jaune's cheeks, causing him to adjust the collar of his coat, ensuring the blue, wool scarf was tucked into the seams to ward off the chill. He stuffed his gloved hands into the deep pockets, as the group made their way down the sidewalks, averting the rush-hour traffic by opting to walk the few blocks to HQ. Keeping the pace brisk to maintain a warming heart rate, the group of six stuck near to the buildings, allowing the brick and mortar to shield them from the most severe of the gales.

They eventually reached the major intersection they were looking for, eyes drawing up to stare at the hulking, looming building across the way. It was clearly the largest structure in the city, area-wise, and stood in stark contrast to the richly embellished buildings surrounding it. The Atlesian Military HQ lacked the blue chrome siding, azure ribbon lights, and mirrored windows that most of the other skyscrapers and highrises possessed. Instead, it existed as an enormous, steel cube - there were no windows, decorations, or unnecessary additions to the structure. It was almost as if someone had plucked the complex from a different location and dumped it in the center of the cluster of technologically-inspired buildings.

Their group shuffled quickly through the automatic doors and inside to the warmer atrium, the toasty air prompting them to begin shedding their unnecessary layers. Jaune draped his coat and scarf over the wooden coat-hook provided, before joining the others who had done the same.

The lobby was modest, clean, and functional - pristine in appearance, yet minimally decorated. The room was a long, rectangular area, and Jaune estimated it was around forty feet long and twenty feet wide. There was a short row of three elevators, a conservative reception desk, and a few obligatory metal chairs in a makeshift seating area. But the feature that really caught Jaune's eye were the walls, ceilings, and floor.

It did not matter which way he looked, all the walls were completely translucent.

Behind the frosted glass partitions, he could make out hundreds of people populating the building, going about their daily functions, moving from room to room. However, it appeared that the occupant of the room could control the opacity of the walls, allowing for greater privacy in boardrooms, offices, and restrooms. The state-of-the-art technology that must have been in place to allow this extremely advanced function had Jaune wondering just what else the Atlesian Military HQ had up their proverbial sleeve.

Taking stock once more of the room in which they currently stood, he noted that there were several, large projector screens along the walls, displaying everything from newly developed technology to upcoming events. There were a few stalls containing touchtone telephones, as well as a few cubicles with laptop computers set up for research. At the end of the hall, just past the elevators, he could make out a row of assorted vending machines and coffee makers - a refreshment stand for visitors and workers of this floor.

Refocusing on their current task, Jaune and Ruby pulled away from the group, gesturing for them to idle for a few moments. Side-by-side, they approached the front reception desk, and were greeted by the professional, yet polite face of a young, redheaded administrative worker.

"Hello, guests. My name is Celeste. How might I assist you this evening?"

Her voice was friendly, yet sharp, the tone polished and practiced. Her carrot-red hair was drawn back in a flawless bun at her crown, and her attire was the standard grey and white of the Atlesian government. She sported a pair of black, horn-rim glasses, which shadowed her light, hazel eyes. Her face was dusted with a light smattering of freckles, and her posture was impeccable.

"Umm, hi! My name is Ruby, and this is my teammate, Jaune. We were just passing through on...umm...official business...from Vale. We were hoping to, umm...establish immediate passage to Mistral. Would you mind pointing us in the direction of the official in charge of that...umm...sector of...umm...expertise?"

The receptionist blinked slowly at the shorter huntress for a moment, before clearing her throat and nodding politely, "Absolutely. Would you mind placing your scrolls on the ID pad here in order to verify your identities? Then I will be able to appropriately direct you to the correct department for your inquiry."

Jaune and Ruby shuffled nervously for a moment, digging-out their newly-issued tablets that Glynda had given them upon their departure from Vale. They wasted no more time in placing them on the metallic surface of the ID pad, listening to the rhythmic beeps and clicks as it processed the information provided.

No more than a few seconds later, the screens flashed green and Celeste nodded to them to collect their scrolls once more.

"Perfect. Thank you Miss Rose, Mr. Arc. I assume the group behind you are accompanying you?"

Ruby nodded in acknowledgement, "Of course. They are also our teammates, traveling with us on our mission to Mistral."

Celeste nodded briefly, clicking and tapping a few buttons on her computer, before looking to them once more, "Unfortunately, the Director of Transport and Commerce is unavailable at the present. He has redirected all of his inquiries and appointments to the Vice-Director of the Special Operatives Division. You will need to take this first lift to the 8th floor," she gestured to the first elevator in the row, "then take an immediate right and follow the hallway down to room 812B. There will be a secretary to assist you upon arrival. Here are your guest badges - please display these at all times, as they are your only means of security clearance."

The two leaders nodded their affirmation, filling out information sheets on their teammates' identities, before collecting the clip-on badges. Giving their thanks, they heading back to join their teammates.

After passing out the badges, and ensuring that each member had donned them appropriately, Jaune and Ruby took up the lead once more. They approached the first lift, swiping their badges over the scanner to open the heavy, titanium doors. They all filed in, packing themselves into the tiny, holographically lit elevator car, before selecting the button for the 8th floor and allowing the doors to close behind them.

The ride was a short one, the cars controlled so tightly that the ascent wasn't even detectable, but for the soft _'dings'_ as each floor was passed.

Finally, the car stopped, the metal doors sliding open with a soft _'chirp'_ , and the six teens exited into the surprisingly musty, empty hallway. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the sterile smell of cleaning solution hung in the stale air. The corridor was narrow, lined with several windowless doors marked with simple number plaques. Their footsteps echoed noisily off the slightly claustrophobic passage, and Jaune couldn't shake the feeling that they sounded much like a funeral dirge.

Jaune figured this area didn't get a whole lot of foot-traffic, and the sense of foreboding in the access hallway did little to convince him otherwise.

 _812B…_

The narrow corridor eventually opened up into a larger, less imposing, antechamber where another receptionist sat at a simple, metal desk. The woman's name tag read: **Jacinthe** , and her workspace was neatly organized. She wore the same, standard-issue government jumper, with dark, umber hair braided down her back, and eyes the color of cognac. She did not look up from her work, merely lifting a hand to point her finger down another hallway off to the left.

"The Vice-Director is in her office down that way. 812B. No more than two visitors at a time. Scan your badges at the checkpoint before proceeding. Have a good evening."

The six students glanced between themselves, surprised at the contrast between the two receptionists they had encountered. Reconciling the differences, they realized there was a dilemma at hand. Only two from their group could continue on to meet with the Vice-Director.

The decision, however, was a simple one. Ruby spoke after only a few moments, knocking shoulders with her blonde co-leader.

"Jaune and I will go on ahead and make the arrangements. You four hang out for a bit. I'll ping you when we're done. Deal?"

There were several nods in agreement, then the group began to split. Nora and Ren headed for the vending machines they had spotted near the elevator, while Sun and Neptune plopped down on the uncomfortable looking chairs in the small waiting area. Ruby met Jaune's eyes once more, nodding in confirmation, before they turned over their shoulders and proceeded down the cramped hallway.

"So, after we book our flight, I think we should try reaching out to Weiss. What about you?"

Ruby's voice seemed hesitant, as if she were worried Jaune would disagree. Why she thought that, he couldn't fathom, but obviously she was looking for his approval.

Humming softly, he glanced over at her, noticing how her teeth clamped tightly on her bottom lip, as if she were nervous about something. Her silver eyes were hooded beneath pale lids, and she was obviously deep in thought.

Jaune took a soft breath, allowing his eyes to scan over the room numbers, though his attention was focused on the girl beside him, "Yeah. I think that's a smart idea. I'm sure she would be a valuable asset to our mission...and I think you could really benefit from having one of your teammates back. I know you miss her…"

Though the hooded huntress beside him didn't respond verbally, the soft quirk at the corner of her lips, coupled with the gentle look in her eyes at the idea of having the heiress traveling with them, told him more than her words could.

Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, the small plaque reading: **812B - Vice-Director - Special Operations Division - W.S.**

They approached the door with a feeling of anticipation and nerves, wondering who they'd meet on the other side. Jaune swallowed thickly, raising a gloved hand, and knocking twice upon the reinforced plexiglass.

"Enter."

The response was curt, but not entirely unkind. It was also distinctly feminine in nature.

The scroll pad above the door lit-up with a green flash, before the barrier was sliding open, retracting to the right.

As they entered the small office, Ruby turned the corner first, then proceeded to gasped loudly beside him. He turned his head to view her wide, expressive eyes - they were filled with a shocked recognition, and prompted Jaune to quickly pan his vision to follow her own.

What he saw caused his brows to creep toward his scalp, lips parting in a silent question, as he attempted to put two and two together.

The occupant of the office was seated behind a long, metal desk, stacks of papers piled in the corners in a manner that suggested they might have been shoved there as an afterthought. A cluster of empty coffee mugs occupied a spot behind her laptop, and the wastebasket by the built-in file cabinet near her feet overflowed with biodegradable paper coffee cups - likely from the vending machine down the hall. A half-eaten sandwich sat on a paper plate to the left of a touchtone telephone, and a military-issue silver thermos sat uncapped within arm's reach.

But what surprised Jaune the most wasn't the obvious disorder and neglect of the work area itself, but the person who sat in the center of it. There was something so familiar about the snow-white hair, pulled neatly into a bun at the crown of her head, long bangs brushing the curve of a pale jawline. Her facial features were delicate and refined, yet there was a hardness to her countenance that spoke of stress, insomnia, and potentially sadness.

Steel-blue eyes narrowed at her computer screen, as if studying the display with every ounce of her concentration. Long-fingered hands moved over the keyboard with staccato _'clicks'_ , navy blue gloves discarded to the side to drape over a seemingly unused printer.

At the sound of their entrance, instead of immediately greeting the pair, she lifted a slender hand, squeezing strong pressure along the slope of her neck and upper shoulders. She closed her tired eyes, allowing a deep sigh to fall from her lips, before tucking her bangs back away from her face.

Resting pale elbows on the edge of her desk, she rubbed a hand over her worn features, before unexpected words fell from her pale lips.

"Whoever you are, you can tell that useless secretary of mine that if she sends one more person to my office without a fresh cup of black coffee and a pack of menthol slims, she can kiss her day job goodbye. There are a hundred more just like her who need the work."

 _Umm…_

Jaune's mind stuttered slightly, surprised at the melodic alto of the woman's voice as she spoke from a place of obvious exhaustion and irritation. As the Vice-Director of a very important department, this woman was not what he had been expecting to encounter. However, one glance at Ruby and his entire sense of confusion tripled.

The young huntress was staring, wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape, at the woman behind the desk, as if taking in the sight of something she had lost, but didn't realize that it had been missing until that moment. Then she spoke.

"Winter…?"

Jaune frowned slightly, a puzzled expression crossing over his face.

 _Winter?_

Ruby's words seemed to flip a switch in the woman behind the desk, her shoulders drew back, spine straightening so quickly there was an audible _'pop'_ from her vertebrae. Her shocked face whipped toward the door, dark lapis eyes narrowing slightly, before widening in recognition. Straightening in her chair, she swivelled toward the pair at the threshold, pale hands braced on the edge of the desk as she stood to full height. Suddenly, she moved with lightning speed, nearly a blur as she came to stand between them, sliding the door shut quickly. She wasted no time keying-in a code onto the wall-pad by by the doorframe, the lights flashing red above the entrance, and a whirring click signified the door had locked tightly. The walls suddenly reached maximum opacity, and their seemed to be a hum in the air at the change.

Jaune blinked his eyes at the sudden action, turning his head to observe the woman, body tensing in warning. He listened as the sharp clicks of her silver boots echoed against the tile floors, slowly making her way back to her desk, before motioning to the two empty chairs across the way.

"Please, sit...I'm sure we have much to discuss."

Jaune took a step, intent upon taking a seat and beginning their conversation, but Ruby apparently had other ideas. She was a blur of red and black as she darted to the head of the desk, planting her palms on the cool metal, an unnerving desperation present in her normally carefree voice.

"Where is Weiss?! Please...I need to know. Is she okay? I need to see her."

There was a deep sigh of resignation from the white-haired woman behind the desk, shoulders sinking and a hand waving lazily in response, her voice thick with exhaustion and mild irritation, "Miss Rose, please take a seat. I assure you my sister is safe and healthy. Did you think I would allow anything to happen to her?"

 _Wait...sister?!_

Jaune turned his eyes back to Winter, as if seeing her in a new light. So this was Weiss' sister who worked for the Atlesian Military? Well, that certainly explained a few things. The two ladies possessed the same snow-white hair, ivory complexion, and elegant features. Though Winter's eyes were a darker shade of blue than her sister's, they were no less startling upon which to gaze.

Jaune assumed there had to be a substantial age-gap between the two sisters, as Winter looked no younger than her mid-twenties. Weiss had mentioned her once or twice in passing, but had never really talked much about her outside of those fleeting comments. All he had garnered from her information was that Winter was older, worked for the Atlesian Military, and shared her semblance and proficiency with a sword. Beyond that, everything had been pure speculation.

The room seemed to stand still, time halting as the three occupants remained motionless and silent. Ruby stood defiantly, a hard look in her slate eyes, and she seemed to regard Winter with a mixture of anxiety and ire, as if she was unsure whether to scream in frustration or cry in relief. Her inky brows drew deeply over her eyes, chin dropping toward her chest as she uttered soft words in a low, dangerous voice.

"I need to see her. Let me see her. She's my teammate...my partner...I need to see her."

Winter's pale hands came up to rub harshly over her sculpted features, her fatigue showing through her facade of poise. Resting her weight on her elbows, she folded her hands, resting her forehead against pale knuckles.

"Miss Rose...Ruby…" her voice was heavy, filled with layers of isolation, exasperation, and unfettered weariness, "please, take a seat. I'll explain everything."

Jaune's gaze wavered between the two huntresses, sensing the existing animosity, and hoping this wouldn't get ugly. Clearing his throat, he shoved his hands into his pockets, nervously worrying a loose thread his fingers found there, as he attempted to diffuse the situation.

"Umm...Ms. Schnee. While we certainly want to get in contact with your sister, we really came here to book a flight to Mistral. We were told you are in charge of that process at the present. Is that right?"

The energy in the room remained tense, yet shifted to something less dangerous, less volatile. Winter visibly relaxed, her shoulders sagging slightly, and her hands falling away from her face, "Of course…" she shuffled a few papers, pulling out a log-book of sorts, before flipping a few pages and snatching up a ball-point pen.

Ruby seemed to deflate a bit, all of her excess stress and anger evaporating into abrupt realization of her behavior. Her eyes lowered apologetically, and her hands fell limply at her sides, as if coming to her senses. She shuffled backward slowly, until the backs of her knobby knees hit the hard surface of the chair beside the blonde huntsman. Plopping into her seat, she mumbled a soft apology, folding her hands in the black and red fabric of her lap.

Jaune reached out a gloved hand, resting it on her shoulder, and giving it a brief squeeze of reassurance. Her silver eyes rose slowly to meet his own, and she gave a gentle smile of acknowledgement.

"It's okay, Ruby. We'll bring her back."

Oh, how his words pierced his own skin, like tiny, razor-sharp daggers, etching out his sins in blood and leaving aching, burning scars in their wake. Weiss wasn't the only person he was determined to bring back...however, she was the closest, realistic choice at the present.

Letting his hand fall away to his own lap, he took his seat, "Ms. Schnee, if you don't mind me asking...why the secrecy? We're here on official business, after all. It's not exactly a classified mission."

The elder Schnee let out a heavy breath, running a hand through her bangs, as her eyes rose from their previous task. Her voice was laced with concern, and her brows drew tightly across her forehead.

"While your _'official'_ mission may be approved and endorsed...I get the feeling that you are here for more than simple travel arrangements. Am I wrong?"

Jaune grew quiet, his own brows drawing together in thought, but Ruby broke her silence.

"I need to see her. I'm not leaving Atlas until I get to see her."

Ruby's voice was thick with emotion - a longing sadness that washed over Jaune's heart. He was no stranger to that emotion.

Had there been any lingering anger between the three, it had resolved itself with the determined vow that fell from the young huntress' lips. Winter sighed behind the desk, placing the notebook gently onto the desktop, smoothing her long-fingered hands over the charted pages.

Dark eyes rose to lock onto them from across the way, cobalt orbs intense with a fierce protectiveness Jaune hadn't expected to see in them.

"I assure you, Ms. Rose...when it comes time for you to depart from Atlas…Weiss _will_ be by your side."


	5. This is Gravity

**Chapter 5 - This is Gravity**

* * *

"Is everyone clear on their roles? I don't need last-minute stupidity screwing this up. We won't get another shot at this."

Winter's words were precise, clipped, and held an unspoken, yet obvious, threat.

Jaune did his best not to let his mind wander - it had become an unconscious habit for him over the last month, against his better judgement. He knew that he owed it to his team to be a worthy leader, but he was also having an extremely difficult time reconciling with himself the many mistakes that he had made in his short reign. Honestly, how could he continue being in charge if he couldn't even keep his teammates safe? Nothing he had done in the entirety of his tenure as leader could justify his teammates' willingness to follow him.

Nora had always listened to him, never questioning any plan he had devised or order he had given. If he told her to do something that put herself in danger, she would do it without hesitation, and smile all the way. If he told her to hold back and withdraw, she would do it without complaint, and cheer from the sidelines. She had always shown an unwavering sense of loyalty toward him - so unfailing that it frightened him at times.

Ren wasn't so different, though slightly more vocal about his concerns. Jaune suspected that was simply because he was marginally more loyal to Nora, and did not like to see her put at risk - necessary or otherwise. However, when it came down to crunch time, the dark-haired huntsman wouldn't hesitate to have his leader's back and place himself in harm's way if required.

What could they possibly see in him that would warrant such blind trust? Was it the same thing that Ozpin had apparently seen in him on Initiation Day so long ago? No one had ever explained to him what that was - what he had done to merit this unwieldy responsibility.

He blinked back to the present as he noticed Nora talking quietly with Ren a few feet away, clipped pieces of their conversation audible to him.

It seemed that Ren wasn't comfortable with Nora going alone for her task in this mission, and Nora didn't appear to appreciate his lack of confidence in her. Ren was currently trying to explain to her that his concern had nothing to do with his faith in her abilities, but she was on-edge as it was...arguing about things like this was sure to irritate and rile her.

However, honestly, Jaune couldn't blame Ren for his concerns and reservations.

None of them had believed, even for a second, that Pyrrha was going to her death, at the time…not until it was too late to stop her. It was strange but, in hindsight, Jaune supposed they had viewed their teammate as somewhat untouchable.

She hadn't been a proud, narcissistic hero who bled hubris from every pore, like some others of her caliber were. She didn't care about things like _'power'_ and _'fame'_. She only ever wanted to be like everyone else - loved for who she was, not what she had done. The Pyrrha they had known would never run headlong into danger to prove a point, or go down in a blaze of glory.

Something else had to have happened...something to which none of them were privy, and it killed Jaune that he couldn't figure out what it had been. If he had known, maybe he could have done something to stop her, to help her realize that her sacrifice was not a necessary one. She was more important to them alive than dead...why could she _not_ have seen that?

Jaune shut out the train of thought before it could take root and begin to fester. Turning his back to the pair, he began fishing through the black duffle bag that Winter had thrown onto the grass beside him. Unzipping it, he pulled out several electronic devices the size of card decks, corresponding muslin pouches, and wired ear pieces. Ordering them by the labels stamped on the cloth pouches, Jaune began handing them out, as the eldest Schnee continued giving out instructions.

"I need everyone tuned into Channel 2 at all times. This is the open feed where we may all communicate. If you need to reach someone directly, you may preface the message with their call sign."

The elder Schnee relayed instructions on properly tuning the radios, ensuring that each team member knew how to correctly operate them. When she had confirmed they were all functional and understood, she turned her attention to Jaune's female teammate, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Nora, you've seen the blueprints, correct? You think you can make your way to the mainframe without detection?"

The redhead gave the Schnee a thumbs up, broad smile peeling across her face, as she inserted the earbud into her left ear and secured the electronic pack to her waist.

"Shouldn't be a problem. I've snuck through tighter spaces in my youth. This'll be a piece of cake."

Jaune noticed as Ren's jaw tightened slightly beside her, his pale hand resting on her shoulder to rein her in. The pale-eyed huntsman fastened the wire of the earpiece to his shirt, tucking it into the garment with care not to upset the cord's attachment to the pack. He was taking no real measures to hide his displeasure with the current situation.

Nora was tasked with the disarming of the security system - including sensors, alarms, locks, and cameras. She was to accomplish this task by creeping through the air ducts and crawl spaces to the mainframe of the system at the center of the mansion. Once there, she would activate her semblance, short-circuiting the electrical wires and silently deactivating the entire system. It was a risky, tedious task, but there was no one else as well equipped as Nora to pull it off. Between her short stature and petite build, coupled with her semblance's ability to create and channel electrical energy, she was the perfect candidate for this job.

The blonde felt an ache in his chest at the tension surrounding his friends - Ren was obviously worried for Nora, and Jaune could identify. It was a constant struggle with yourself as a huntsman, separating the ' _concern for_ ' from the _'trust in_ ' your teammates - especially when your squad members were like your family. He shook his head, allowing his eyes to pass over his remaining teammates.

A static buzz from the earpiece brought Jaune's attention back out of the vortex of negative thoughts; he was thankful for the interruption. Pushing the heavy anxiety aside, he secured his own earpiece and checked his pack for the items he would need for his role in this leg of the mission.

 _Five lock-picks, two rolls of self-coiling rope, a pair of small bolt-cutters, five flash grenades, five smoke bombs, and three gas masks...that should be everything._

Sunset was upon them, and they would need to act shortly after nightfall in order to have the highest chance of success. Thanks to Winter's security clearance and filial connections, they were already well within the Schnee Compound's walled-in borders, currently making their last few adjustments, before preparing to infiltrate undetected. Their group had been swift when moving among the shadows, and they had traveled until approximately one-hundred yards from the point of entry. This is where Winter had halted the team to divide into individual and paired tasks.

"Sun, Neptune...you two are on sentinel duty on the grounds. If you see any suspicious movement at all, you report it to me immediately. We cannot afford any missteps."

The two young huntsmen bumped fists, adjusting their black cloaks, and testing their radios. They would probably have the most important task of all: watching everyone's backs. Winter had ensured they were familiarized with every possible access point and patrol route for the Atlesian Knights her father had commissioned from the army, as well as all surveillance camera stations to avoid when doing their own reconnaissance. Neptune would observe from the ground, Sun from the higher vantage points - trees, fences, balconies, etc...

"Ren, the weapon safe is located in my father's armory, fifth closet, south corner. The combination, should you need it, is located on a strip of tape beneath the SDC plaque on the east wall. Don't forget to grab a few dust cartridges, as well. The stuff's not cheap nowadays, and Myrtenaster won't be fully-functional without it."

Ren's job was, like Nora's, an individual task. He was to make his way through the mansion itself, locate the armory, and retrieve Weiss' weapon - which, apparently, her father had locked up upon her return. There was not an alarm on the safe, as far as Winter knew, so it would be up to the huntsman whether he wanted to break the safe, or try to unlock it. It would all hinge on how much time with which he had to work. From there, he was to backtrack through the east-end of the mansion, and make his way back to the assembly point - or the airship, if the mission were compromised.

Jaune was liking the politics and traditions of the Schnee family less and less the more he learned about them. How could someone treat their children in this manner - locking them up, disarming them, and forcing them to live their life in solitude? It was just wrong. No one could sustain that sort of living arrangement long-term and still function.

"Ruby, Jaune...you're in charge of collecting my sister. You'll stick to the shadows, and act quickly. You will only have about eight to ten minutes of _'security blackout_ ' from when Nora crashes the system. I marked all the quickest short-cuts and passages through the mansion on the blueprints you were given yesterday - I very much hope you memorized them."

Of course they _had_...they weren't about to screw this up - not when one of their teammates was at stake.

The fair-haired specialist spread out the blueprint of the home's main level onto the ground before them. Running her finger along a few hallways marked in the center, she guided them to their destination.

"Weiss' room is on the 6th floor, down this corridor, at the top of the stairs. Jaune, you should be able to use these marked keys on any locks you may encounter on your way," she tossed him a key-ring holding around ten keys of various shape and size, "Use the bolt cutters and lock-picks should you run into any that do not match."

Following the path with her gloved index finger, she tapped a few X's marked in red, "I will need you to be on guard and dispatch anyone who tries to interfere with your objective - even if it means taking a life. Is that something you think you can manage?"

Jaune nodded without hesitation, "Yeah, I can manage it."

He didn't miss the frowns from Ren and Nora at his blunt and brutal response, but decided to ignore them. He didn't have the luxury of hesitation if this was going to work. He refused to allow himself to be responsible for anyone else's misfortune - even if that meant he had to bloody his hands in the process.

Winter began re-rolling the blueprint, before sliding it into a solid, black tube and shoving it into her pack.

"Ruby, you will quickly help Weiss gather her things and exit out of the window with her - she can use her glyphs to assist you in the descent. Sun and Neptune should be waiting for you at the bottom to ensure your safety to the assembly point."

The dark-haired huntress lifted her red hood over her crown, adjusting her radio pack, and nodding in acknowledgement, "Won't be a problem."

Winter nodded, turning back to the blonde huntsman, her words suddenly softening in sobriety.

"Jaune, you will then backtrack through the hidden corridors and rendezvous with Nora at the west-end servant's tunnel. These catacombs lead out beneath the gardens, so you will not be meeting us at the assembly point. The tunnel terminates at the air-pad, where you will meet me on the ship. My goal is to have both of you out of there and at the transport site in under seven minutes, just to be safe."

Her steel-blue eyes darkened slightly, and Jaune could tell she wasn't as comfortable with their tasks as she was with the others. It didn't take him long to realize why.

"Due to the nature of your individual tasks, you two will have the longest journey back. Consequently, this means that no one will be there to back you up in the event that you are compromised..."

This was where Ren's concern and anxiety held weight. If something happened, anything at all, Jaune and Nora were on their own. While Jaune had certainly improved in combat, Ren did not trust that Nora would abstain from recklessly protecting him in a dire situation. The panic of that scenario churned in Jaune's belly and he had to swallow down bile at the mere thought of all the possible ways this could end badly for them.

However, time was not something he had to waste at the moment, and fretting over dark possibilities was a sure way to psyche himself out. That would only raise the odds that he would somehow damage their chances under pressure. That was not something he could afford to do.

"The rest of you will rendezvous here if all goes as planned, where Ruby will take charge and lead you back to the transport point. If there are any hitches or unforeseen circumstances, then we will meet back at the airship. If you need to address me directly, my call-sign is Agent Ghost. Role call!"

Ruby stood at mock attention, attempting to lighten the mood a bit, before they surely entered an arena of the unknown, "Agent Creep, present."

Jaune felt the click of Ruby's radio as it switched-on, signalling his turn, "Agent Cataphract, present," he voiced, before plucking the switch on his own radio, before nodding to Nora at his left.

The redhead smirked in anticipation, and Jaune could practically see her vibrating with excitement, as she turned the switch on her radio pack, "Agent Ragnarok, present."

Ren sighed at her side, shaking his head briefly, before flipping his radio on and responding, "Agent Shinobi, present."

Sun cracked his knuckles against his palms, crooked grin smeared across his face as he nodded to his partner, clicking his radio on, "Agent Sandstorm, present."

Neptune returned the smile, waggling his brows above his aqua eyes, before simulating an air gun with his right hand, his left attending to the radio pack "Agent Maelstrom, present."

With all members present and accounted for, Winter nodded once more, "Agent Ghost, moving out! Be silent, be swift, be _safe_..."

* * *

 _"Creep to Cataphract: All clear."_

Ruby's whisper drifted through Jaune's earpiece, even though she was only a few yards ahead of him. They had infiltrated the meager servant's wing without incident, making their way stealthily through the dark hallways toward the east tower.

From what he could tell, the Schnee mansion wasn't the elaborate, grand castle he had imagined it to be. Instead, it was a portrait of an eerie labyrinth of twists and turns, marble floors and granite doors. Intricate carvings littered the crown molding, somehow untouched by time and giving the illusion of shifting beneath the dim light of the moon.

Advancing carefully onward, deeper into the dusky, grey gloom, they passed a few unmarked rooms and passages, each with their own impenetrable darkness and incalculable destinations. They eventually came to a conservative entryway, beyond which stood their first checkpoint - a massive set of wooden doors. Those doors were the only thing blocking their path from the east tower.

"Stop," Jaune whispered to the hooded huntress, snagging her forearm to halt her movements, " _Cataphract, here: I have a visual._ "

They were a few feet away from the first guard point. Jaune could see two security cameras at different corners in the corridor - panning to capture the hallway leading to the doors. He knew, based on the blueprints, that there was one other camera hidden in the shadows. They couldn't continue without a signal from Nora.

Then, as if on cue, a familiar, feminine voice crackled through on Jaune's earpiece. At first it was fuzzy, but then it cleared on a breathy whisper that was undoubtedly his female teammate.

" _Ragnarok here. Two yards from mainframe target_ ," her voice was strained, yet confident, " _I have a confirmed visual. Everyone in position?_ "

Jaune smiled tensely, lifting a gloved hand to press the call button on his earpiece, " _Affirmative. Cataphract and Creep are a go at your signal._ "

Ren's voice faded through the line, " _Affirmative, Shinobi is in place; awaiting your signal._ "

The rasp of Sun's baritone answered back, " _Affirmative, Sandstorm and Maelstrom have a visual on the target's room. All clear down here. We're a go on Creep's signal. Standing by._ "

The seconds ticked by, and Jaune breathed deeply to calm his nerves. This was it - the moment that would define their mission. He would have roughly one minute to unlock and clear these doors, then another two minutes to clear the next camera-lined corridor before the security cameras would reactivate on their backup battery at about the three-minute mark. They had to move fast; there was no room for error.

Silently, he pulled the key-ring from his belt, hand wrapped around them to avoid jingling noise. Eying what he could see of the lock, he noted that it was a long, deep recess in the metal, so he could easily narrow it down to half of the keys. Judging from the labels on each one, he could eliminate another two. That left him with only three keys he would have to cycle-through to unlock the doors.

 _Should be doable...it will give us plenty of time to get to the next checkpoint...I hope._

Five seconds later, Nora's voice crackled back through the earpiece on a blanket of static, " _Ragnarok, here. I'm in. Fade to black in 3...2...1…"_

There was a barely discernible hum, then a soft whirring as the cameras shut-off and hung limply from their hooks.

Jaune and Ruby were moving half a second later.

* * *

" _Sandstorm, here: Mobile guard count on east side numbers at least ten, including one Paladin and three Knights. Remainder are foot-soldiers. Stand by._ "

Jaune worked a fourth key into the third set of doors they had encountered, breathing slowly to ease his accelerating heart. It turned cleanly in the lock, and he had barely removed it before tossing the ring to Ruby, as she went flying up the stone, spiral staircase. It was a tag-team race to beat the clocks and cameras. They had made it halfway up the east tower, and thanks to their light feet and swift movements, had yet to meet opposition.

" _Maelstrom, here: Attention of squad is only twenty-to-forty-percent on task. In other words, they're slackin' off. Awaiting Creep's signal to move."_

Jaune raced up the steps after the hooded huntress, releasing soundless breaths as he closed the distance between them. He watched as she worked at the keys, finding the correct one on her second try. This time, however, they didn't slam the doors open. This time, they waited.

Ear pressed to the thinner wood, Ruby closed her eyes as she listened carefully for any signs of movement. They were very near a physical guard post, and they did not want to mess this up with a simple moment of negligence or carelessness.

"I think we're clear," she whispered, silver eyes peeling back open, lifting her head away, as she handed off the keys.

Jaune's gut coiled, and slowly, he took a step forward, the sounds of their unveiled steps echoing in the empty chamber. As he moved, his form reflexively tightened, the lines and planes of his body etched in tension, "We should still be cautious. Move in."

They eased the door open inch by inch. Surprisingly, the hinges were silent, no creaks or squeaks demanding oil and grease.

Silence spanned the corridor, battered and absorbed by time, littered with dust and grime. It was as if Papa Schnee had sequestered Weiss away in an ancient, abandoned tower to await a knight in shining armor to come and save her. Jaune could wonder at the poetic irony of this situation at a later time. For now, they had a job to do and couldn't afford to linger in thought.

As they moved silently down the corridor, eyes darting every which way to catch any semblance of movement, there was a crackle in Jaune's earpiece.

" _Shinobi, here: I've acquired the weapon and fifteen dust cartridges. Heading to assembly point. ETA - two minutes. Moving out._ "

Jaune felt his chest swell with relief at the news that both of his teammates had successfully completed their tasks and were making their way to their rendezvous points. He wondered, briefly, if Nora had made it to the laundry chutes yet. He doubted it, as she had quite a length of air ducts to cover first.

His blue eyes scanned the dark hallway ahead of them, regaining his bearings on where he was; if not for the mission, then to at least get his head on straight with a focus to maintain. This wasn't like any of the previous rooms or corridors they had encountered. There was still an apparent lack of decor, but the glow of light along the walls in the form of small dust lamps indicated that this area was in-use more frequently.

 _We're getting close…_

There was no sign of the guards that normally patrolled the halls. If they were active, they were not on this particular stretch of corridor.

 _Small blessings…_

They sped through the shadows, unhindered and as fully aware of their surroundings as they were able to be in the obscurity. After what felt like minutes, but were really only moments, they reached the final leg of their journey.

They stopped, halting just beyond an arched entryway, willing their breath to still as they entered into the artery of passageways that branched off into other corridors. Recalling the blueprints, Jaune remembered that they needed to take the third passage - the one marked with a blue dust-torch.

Their eyes swung to lock onto it simultaneously, and their feet were moving before their brains could catch up.

The path before them was devoid of all life at this hour. The halls were still, silent, and if it weren't for the fact that Jaune was running faster than he had probably ever run in his life, he might have taken time to admire the paintings and portraits that lined the marble walls. Pushing idle thoughts from his head, the blonde followed closely behind Ruby, allowing her to scan the hallway for the correct room.

There were a few doors scattered randomly along both sides, but none of them seemed to be in-use, a thick layer of dust coating the handles, kicking up in a whirlwind of grime as they sprinted by them. Tall, worn statues sat on filthy pedestals sporadically placed against the walls, and ghostly cobwebs hung from the faces of lifeless marble.

Pressing onward, deeper into the corridor's shadows, they came upon a thick, metal gate. Various symbols were etched into the bars, glowing faintly under the gossamer sheets of moonlight on the other side. Taking a step closer, Jaune could tell that there were several glyphs embedded in the etchings, and his mind began spinning and flipping through the pages of the blueprints Winter had shown them. He remembered this...they were glyphs of warding. He had seen Weiss use them a couple of times when they had sparred; they were light blue in color and repellent in nature.

Turning swiftly toward Ruby, he locked eyes with her, gesturing to the symbols, "Warding glyphs. You know how to break them, right?"

Her eyes flashed widely, brown pinching slightly in thought, before she nodded deliberately, taking a step forward, "Yeah, I've had to do this a few times in our partnered training session. It's easy enough."

She lifted her hands, activating her aura to glow a faint red over the palms, as she pressed them flat against the two largest glyphs. Curling her fingers around the lip of the glyphs outer circle, she began twisting them outward in opposing rotations. Then, suddenly, she emitted a burst of aura, pulling her hands away from the surface, before slamming them back against the glyphs, effectively shattering the entire enchantment.

With a hefty sigh, her arms fell limply at her sides and she wilted a bit against the metal bars.

Jaune reached out a hand to steady her, grasping her shoulder in concern, "You okay?"

His answer was a silent thumbs-up from her opposite hand, and he couldn't help but take notice of the faint burn marks on her palms in the shape of the glyphs. However, her aura soon began to glow around them, working to heal the backfire damage she had taken.

Her head lifted away from the bars, and she squared her shoulders, turning her head to smile at him reassuringly, "Yup, I'll be fine. Let's keep going. We're almost there."

Jaune nodded in agreement, fishing the keys from his belt, before working through to the correct one. The door swung open with nothing more than a soft whine at the hinges, and then they were moving again, though Ruby's speed was a bit more reserved this time.

 _Breaking those glyphs must have taken a lot out of her...we'll have to be extra careful about confrontation._

Further ahead, the path split once again.

Ruby's slowed a bit, but didn't stop. However, the fatigue was causing her difficulty in remembering the correct route, "Which way?"

Jaune didn't hesitate, his brain operating on autopilot, pulling remembered information from the blueprints he'd studied for hours the previous night and morning, "Left. The room should be at the end of the hall."

The winding hallway led past more unused rooms, the air thick and heavy with the stale scent of decay. Dust braziers lined the walls on either side, blazing a faint blue haze, giving the corridor a ghostly, haunted feel. Then, after a few moments more, they made it.

Coming to the door at the end of the hall, it wasn't difficult to tell that it was the correct one. It was locked up tightly, ebony chains criss-crossed around the width of the frame and secured with three padlocks of increasing size. Upon further inspection, they determined that there were no glyphs or traps of any kind, and Jaune set to work on pulling the bolt-cutters from the pack at Ruby's back.

Wielding the knife-sized tool, Jaune aligned it properly with the first lock, quickly snapping the looped end and catching the useless hunk of metal in his palm. Handing it off to Ruby, he started on the next one.

"Weiss…" Ruby's voice drifted through the air, a harsh whisper in an attempt to draw her partner's attention, "Weiss, are you in there?"

Jaune snapped off the third and final padlock, discarding it with the others, before going to work on unwinding the chains from the door. Once done, he fished the keys off of Ruby's belt, searching for the largest one he had seen and not yet used. Quickly inserting the skeleton key into the hole provided, he twisted it slowly, hearing the lock creak and groan, before popping open.

It took both of their weight to shove the door open, and when they did, they went tumbling into the room in a heap of tangled limbs and cloaks.

"Ow…" Ruby groaned, rolling off of Jaune's prone form, before turning to search the room for her teammate, "Weiss, where-"

"What are you doing here?!"

Jaune's eyes peeled open, panning to his right to lock onto the startled form of Weiss Schnee.

She was seated on her bed, legs crossed tailor-style, and appeared to have been typing furiously on her scroll before being interrupted. The electronic device now dropped forgotten to the comforter below, her pale legs unwinding from their tangle to flatten slender, bare feet on her plush carpet.

As she moved to stand, Jaune noted her casual attire - white cotton shorts, a crimson camisole, and a bulky beige shawl wrapped around ivory shoulders. Her hair was in the usual ponytail, and her face bore an expression of shock that he had never seen painted across her regal features.

Ruby tried again, her voice coming from somewhere off to his left, "Weiss, we-"

"I said, what are _you_ doing _here_?"

A blanket of confusion seemed to settle over all the occupants of the room, and time seemed to slow for a moment, as Ruby formulated her response.

"Uh, were busting you out?"

Weiss didn't respond, didn't move, didn't even breath for a good few twenty seconds. When she did, her fists balled at her sides, shoulders shaking with emotion, and her pale eyes blazed at the pair before her, "I didn't ask you to come and save me. I have everything under control here!"

Jaune's face slackened in shock, eyes blinking with surprise at the sudden outburst from the one they were supposed to be rescuing. The numbers on this reaction were not adding up in his head, and he lifted his hands in a gesture of solidarity, "Whoa, Weiss...your sister sent us to-"

" _Winter_ is in on this? She would be...I can't tell her anything and expect it to stay a secret. Of course I'm miserable here, but that doesn't mean it would be smart to run away…"

Weiss' face contorted with a strange mixture of rage and sadness, her eyes shining with a thin layer of moisture, before she slammed them shut. Taking a deep breath to calm her ire, she dropped her shoulders in a deliberate slump, forcing some of the tension from her body, before stepping forward.

Ruby seemed to brace herself for a violent outburst, lifting her hands to face her empty palms toward her partner. However, as Weiss moved into her space, she took them all by surprise, shattering the invisible barrier between them and wrapping her long, pale arms around Ruby's narrow shoulders. She buried her face in the other's hair, shoving her woolen hood out of the way, and breathing in her scent as if she were committing it to memory.

"You crazy, reckless dolt...why did you come here? Do you have a death wish?"

Jaune stood rooted to the spot, entranced by their odd interactions, but snapped to attention when Weiss stepped back suddenly. Her hands remained on Ruby's shoulders, but she placed a good foot of space between them now, her brow twisting into a deep frown.

"You shouldn't have come here. I don't know what you hoped to accomplish, but _'busting me out'_ isn't realistic. You need to go. Go, before the guards come and won't let you."

Ruby's disbelieving eyes swung upward to meet Weiss' icy stare, "And when do you expect we'll get another chance? If you don't come with us now, if we leave you here, your father will tighten his defenses. We'd be setting up any future tries for failure. He'll expect another attempt. You have to come _NOW_."

Weiss paused and looked away, her hands wrapping around her forearms, thumbs rolling over her biceps through the weaving of her shawl in a defensive movement, "I can't do this...he'll hunt us. He'll never stop…"

Jaune stepped forward finally, an empty sack in his hand, which he held out to her, "Weiss, we can argue about the potential for repercussions later. Right now, we have a limited amount of time to get you out of here. Your sister is waiting with an airship at the helipad. Ren has retrieved your weapon. Ruby's right; we have to go now if we want to have a chance to make it out of here without a fight."

Weiss' tired eyes glided to meet his own, her frown changing from one of frustration to one of anxiety, "But what does it matter? What am I supposed to do once we get out of here? Where will we go? We can't hide forever. He'll come after me just like last time. Only next time he'll take others down in the process. I can't allow that to happen - not for my sake, anyway."

Jaune could feel the hopelessness radiating off of the Schnee like a toxic cloud of fog. This was so unlike Weiss, to just surrender to this ridiculous fate. What had happened to her that her spirit was so broken and her determination so repressed? He was just about to ask her that very question, when, suddenly, the shorter girl beside him went off like stick of dynamite.

"Like _hell_ you won't!" Ruby snapped back, snatching Weiss' left forearm in her pale fingers, "When in the hell did you just start giving up, Weiss? What do you plan to do if we leave you behind? You don't have a weapon; you can't leave this room...you have to get out while you can!"

Weiss tugged pitifully against her partner's desperate grip, her chin dropping as she clenched her teeth in frustration, "You don't understand, Ruby...I-"

"No, _you_ don't understand! We've endangered a lot of friends to get you out of here. We aren't leaving without you. Now, pack up your things and come with me. Right. Now. I'm still your team leader, and that's an _order_."

Weiss' eyes filled with tears at the outburst, shame swimming in her ice-blue orbs as she stared into the blazing silver ones before her. She blinked rapidly to ward off the moisture, but a few sneaked out of the outer corners, as she lifted her chin and turned away quickly. Instead of responding with words, she snatched the sack from Jaune's outstretched palm and busied herself with gathering her things, tucking into the closet to grab her combat uniform. She hid her fears, aggression, turmoil, and sadness under her ice-carved mask of perfect disinterest.

Ruby flexed her hands at her sides for a moment, her jaw set as she caught Jaune's gaze from across the room. She paused only for a moment more to nod in acknowledgement, before moving to assist in Weiss' packing.

"Weiss…"

"Yes?" The other muttered as she returned from the closet fully-dressed.

Clamping her weapon-belt in place at her slender waist, she snapped her dust pouch into the slots with practiced ease. Padding over to her bed, she folded her scroll, before placing it into the waist pack at her hip. Her face remained impassive, but her eyes blurred with emotion, as she set about pulling on her ankle-socks and wedge-style boots.

She stuttered slightly in her movements as Ruby took a seat beside her. She froze completely when an arm came around her shoulders, a dark head resting against her throat, as soft words reached her ears.

"I've really missed you, Weiss...but I'm here now...and I'm not going anywhere this time."

* * *

The shadows grew thicker as Jaune assisted Ruby in opening Weiss' window, pushing the latch upward, before shoving the heavy metal frame out and away.

" _Creep to Sandstorm and Maelstrom: Target has been acquired. Ready for extraction. What is your position?_ "

Ruby dropped her hand from the mic button, bracing her raw palms on the sill as she gazed out into the night, searching the blackness for the two sentinels she had just radioed.

There was a brief moment of tension as they waited for a response, Weiss securing her pack between her shoulders and quickly moving to seal the door to her room with a repulsive warding glyph from the inside.

A moment later, there was a brief buzz of static in Jaune's earpiece, before Neptune's voice broke through on a heavy breath.

" _Maelstrom to Creep: We are in position. Ready for extraction. Area is secure. Go on your signal._ "

Ruby turned and nodded to Jaune, "Alright, you know where you're going, Jaune?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he turned over his shoulder, locking eyes with Weiss, "I'm meeting Nora at the laundry chutes. What's the quickest way to get there from here without going back the way we came?"

Weiss blinked, seeming to ponder the question for a moment, then she walked a few paces toward her desk. Reaching forward, she flattened her palm against a faded area on her off-white walls. When she did this, the floor vibrated slightly, and the wall seemed to open up from the middle, swirling twice, before producing a seven-foot by two-foot opening.

"This will get you down to the library, but from there you'll have to go through a few padlocked doors before you can exit into the corridor that leads to the kitchens. Once you get through the third padlocked door, keep going straight until you reach the dining area. The laundry chutes are just past the staircase across from the dining room. They're impossible to miss."

She drew a new glyph that he'd never seen before, placing it above the entrance she had opened, "This is a time-seal. You'll have approximately two minutes from now to exit this room before it will close behind you to ensure no one follows."

She dropped her hand to her side, turning over her shoulder to stand before him. She reached out her opposite hand to rest on his breastplate, sad eyes locking onto the pauldron at his right shoulder, her words were soft and sad.

"I'm _so_ sorry about Pyrrha...please, come talk to me later on the ship. There are some things I really want to discuss with you."

And with those words, she pulled away, taking her spot beside Ruby at the window, "Oh, and thank you for doing this. I'm glad someone was looking out for my reckless little partner while I was away."

Weiss ignored Ruby's indignant shout, as she conjured a pair of sticky glyphs, placing them just below the window, "See you on the airship. Be safe!"

And with that, she and Ruby climbed onto the sill, before leaping into the darkness beyond to disappear from sight.

* * *

Jaune had been lying to himself earlier.

 _This_ was faster than he'd ever run in his entire life…

He sprinted so fast past the final padlocked door that his calves and quads burned with the exertion, sweat beading on his brow and itching along his scalp. He rounded the corner with a pivot, coming to face the staircase with a ragged breath.

He skidded to a silent stop, pressing his back against the wall beside the laundry shoot.

Nora wasn't there yet.

Moving quickly, Jaune pushed off of the wall, to sink into the shadows of the stairwell's curved mouth.

That was when he sensed it - a shift in the air around him, like a static hum of energy.

Too bad he didn't have time to react to it in time.

Pain flashed across his back, and everything happened so quickly he had a hard time processing it. One moment, he was dodging in a spin-roll, the next the world was crumbling around him. His head spun, dazed from the impact against the marble wall beneath the laundry chute, caught almost completely off-guard.

Despite this, his mind formulated thoughts, eyes blinking in an attempt to will the blur of unconsciousness away. His jaw flexed and he winced, acknowledging the couple of likely cracked ribs and burning gash at his left flank.

Anger brewed in his gut as he lifted his gaze to the attacker, eyes focusing as they met with an empty space where the person had most likely been. However, he registered movement on his peripherals, heading back his way from the right, and fast.

Jaune wasn't as unprepared for the second attack, sweeping back and rolling away from the rush of air that swooped past him. Crocea Mors glinted in the dim moonlight as he unsheathed it, sparks erupting as an opposing blade swung down toward him in a brutal attack. The heated friction of metal on steel sparked before him, his aura blasting along his arms as he drew strength from the memory of so many spars on the rooftop under stars.

 _She_ had prepared him for this very moment...

He firmly held his ground, sweeping up to his feet, denying the force of the attacker the ability to shift him any further back. Deflecting the blow sapped a chunk of his strength, but he dared not allow himself to weaken, even briefly, his gaze glaring back at the assailant.

The opponent's looks were definitely deceiving. Their frame was thick, their body broad and muscular, a contradiction to the speed with which he moved. He towered over Jaune like a mountain, shadowing him in darkness and bowing his chest in an effort to intimidate. His grin was sickening, teeth bared in a sadistic, grotesque manner. Jaune had seen a smile like this before - on the smirking face of the mysterious lady who had killed his partner; the woman seemingly made of flames.

Regardless of the memory and pain, he was not going to give this person another opportunity to strike him down.

He shifted his weight, brandishing his sword with an aim to strike the assailant's lower abdomen. The blade sliced through air, and suddenly the person was gone. Jaune turned swiftly, sensing movement at his right, just in time to deflect a slash toward his gut. Their eyes clashed before the opponent faded into the darkness once more, initiating some sick game of cat-and-mouse.

Jaune kept his senses open, waiting silently, playing it safe. He waited for the hum of foreign energy to draw nearer, to blaze toward him at just the right moment...

 _Gotcha!_

He angled his strength back, bringing his back leg up to slam a knee to his left in a twisting maneuver Pyrrha had taught him in one of their final training sessions. The joint connected with the opponent's chest, Jaune's aura blazing to protect him from impact. He heard the crack of his shield hitting something solid. This time, Jaune wasn't the one sprawled on the floor in a mess of tangled limbs and broken ribs.

The opponent wasn't incapacitated by any means, but he was definitely stunned to momentary stillness.

Jaune took the opportunity to catch his breath, eyes scanning the attacker like a hawk.

The man wore standard, military garb, and seemed to wield some sort of flat-blade scimitar. His hair was a muted blonde, eyes blazing gold like lava against the dark complexion. He never uttered a word.

Jaune's body felt stiff and tight, unwilling to move for the briefest of moments. He had a hard time drawing breath into his constricted chest, his tense lungs, but he pushed past the intensity, doing his best not to let panic set in as the pain flared in his left side.

The assailant stood from his crouch, dusting himself off, before taking one step toward the blonde.

He didn't take a second one.

There was a flash of rose-colored sparks and super-heated air, and Jaune looked up just in time to see Magnhild slam into the man's right side with a sickening crunch, snapping bone and likely puncturing a lung.

Nora unwound from her swing, balancing her weight on the hilt of her war-hammer, chest rising and falling with heavy, uneven breaths.

Her chin rose to meet his gaze, turquoise eyes lined with suppressed pain. She brought a gloved hand up to slide slender fingers through ginger bangs, swiping them away from her glistening forehead.

"You alright there, Agent Cataphract?" She asked softly, a tight grin quirked on her slightly pursed lips.

She didn't appear to be in that great of shape, though he couldn't imagine he did either.

Nodding absently, he took a step toward her, gripping a pale shoulder, before checking her over for any obvious injury, "Are _you_ alright?"

"I will be…" she smiled tightly, favoring her left leg a bit, before shifting her weight.

He squeezed her shoulder, stepping up beside her. Her turquoise depths caught his azure gaze, "You think you can make it?" he whispered.

A dry chuckle fell from her pale lips, and her eyes flashed with a challenge, her gloved fist closing around Magnhild's long handle.

"Don't you worry about me. I'll manage. _You're_ the one bleeding all over the carpet."

Jaune shook his head at the humor, a soft smile quirking at the corner of his own lips, before he jerked his head to the left and closed a hand around her wrist with a tug.

"Let's go, then. We've got a flight to catch."


	6. The Failure Epiphany

**Chapter 6 - The Failure Epiphany**

* * *

" _Agent Cataphract, here: Successfully rendezvoused with Agent Ragnarok. En route to transport zone. ETA: 5 minutes. We have engaged with one enemy. We do not believe we were followed."_

Their first glimpses of the tunnels appeared rather unremarkable - dusty, limestone catacombs that stretched on for what seemed like miles, lit only by the sporadic burn-dust lamps along the craggy walls. There didn't seem to be any signs of life in the stretch of burrow, but that didn't mean there weren't subterranean Grimm lurking in the shadows. They needed to remain vigilant.

Jaune hooked his right arm across the middle of Nora's back and around her right side, supporting her weight. She limped beside him, blood trailing in thin ribbons down her left thigh from beneath the pink fabric of her skirt. He wanted to ask her about it, but they really didn't have the time to divide their attention. His concentration was already compromised by the ever-increasing surges of pain that lanced across his left side with every step. He could feel the hot blood oozing down his back and hip, staining the denim of his jeans, and he knew they needed to get help fast, or risk passing out from blood-loss.

As they rounded a small bend in the tunnel, there was a crackle in Jaune's earpiece, and a feminine voice broke through the ringing in his ears.

" _Agent Ghost, here: All other parties have successfully assembled at the airship. You reported confrontation with the enemy. Any casualties?"_

To be honest, even without time constraints and possible enemy pursuit, Jaune's body was screaming at even the slightest stumble in Nora's step. He scowled at the pain, dragging in a lungful of air, as he reached for his earpiece with his free hand. Compressing the button, he hoisted Nora up from a waver in her balance.

" _Agent Cataphract, here: Nora KO'd a man in military garb. We've both sustained Stage 2-3 injuries. Main concern is blood-loss. Agent Ragnarok has mobility issues. No Stage 4 wounds reported. ETA: 3 minutes."_

He could tell that his teammate was getting light-headed from the loss of blood and dehydration, and her aura was probably low, as well.

Nora was a glass cannon - she hit hard and could often decide a battle with one swing of Magnhild, but left herself open to take large amounts of damage in the process. She also rarely expressed the extent of her pain until the battle was over and they had reached a safe zone. Her wounded-reactions were often deceiving - that was just her nature. As much pain as _he_ was currently experiencing, he knew that _Nora_ likely needed the medical attention more than he did.

Turning his focus back to his teammate, he noted the sickly tinge to her pallor, her blue-green eyes blinking slowly, as if fighting to focus.

 _That's not good..._

"Nora, are you sure you're okay?"

His words were haggard, but filled with concern, and he frowned deeply at the tired quirk of her pale lips.

"Jaune, if you ask me that one more time, I-"

The blonde felt it before he saw it. Nora's legs gave out from under her, pale arm going limp around his shoulders as she passed in and out of consciousness. Her head lolled against his chest, as her body pitched forward, and Jaune barely snatched her back up in time to avoid a nasty tumble to the dusty ground below.

"Nora!"

He tugged the smaller teen against his chest, feeling the muscles and flesh of his back throb in agony at the effort, but he didn't let her go. Shuffling quickly to the side of the tunnel, he propped her limp body against the bedrock wall, bringing a hand to her cheek to pat vigorously.

"Nora, stay with me. Look at me. I need to see your eyes on mine. Come on…"

Cupping the side of her jaw, he lifted her chin with the heel of his hand, gazing upon her with growing concern. Her long lashes fluttered open and closed over glazed eyes as she fought to regain full consciousness, the loss of blood and aura drain dragging her under like a lead weight.

"Please, Nora, work with me here...I need you to stay with me. We're almost there…"

A soft groan issued from her pale throat, her jaw clenching beneath his gentle grip, and a pink-gloved hand lifted to grasp the front of his hoodie as a delirious voice whispered out.

"Jaune, you need to go...get out of here...the ship won't wait forever…"

Sapphire eyes flared widely in shock, Jaune's hands trembling and pain crashing through his chest as he reached forward once more.

"Not a chance, Nora. I'm not losing anyone else. Now, up we go…"

He looped her left arm back around his shoulders, cradling her torso to his chest, as he swept his left elbow beneath the backs of her pale, bloodstained knees. Scooping her up bridal-style, he angled her head against his throat, and grit his teeth through the blinding shock of pain that assaulted him, causing stars to form behind his clenched eyelids. Breathing through the torture, he took one step, then another, and finally found a rhythm that worked. It was slower than he would have liked, but he eventually broke into a moderately efficient trot. Nora wasn't heavy at all, even with the added mass of Magnhild, but Jaune's injuries added strain and an internal pressure that threatened to steal his own consciousness at times.

Finally, the tunnel narrowed, and Jaune could see moonlight filtering in through a set of barred doors. He panicked, knowing that he didn't have the strength to reach the bolt cutters or lockpicks in his knapsack. His mind raced, falling short of any independent solutions he had for this predicament.

 _Only one thing we can do…_

"Nora, can you hit my call-button? We're gonna need a little help here."

He wasn't sure if she had heard him at all for a few moments, until he felt her right hand drag across his chest, fingertips brushing his collarbone as they reached to squeeze the call-button on his radio. The familiar hum of the open channel buzzed in his ear, and he spoke with desperate, breathless words.

" _Agent Cataphract, here: We need help. The door...it's barred. I can't get to my tools. Nora...she's...I...please…someone...just...ugh-"_

Jaune's back hit the wall with a dull, rattling slam, his knees wobbling beneath him as he fought to remain standing. His vision swam before him, and he could feel the warmth of fresh blood at his back, painting the wall crimson with his pain.

His heart hammered in his chest, fear scorching across his gut as he felt the drip of Nora's own blood soaking into the front of his hoodie. She had gone completely still against him, her body slack and spent, breathing dangerously shallow and skin frighteningly pale.

He wasn't going to lie to himself. They were dying. He probably had a few minutes more before he lost consciousness himself. Nora probably had another ten or so until she bled out and fell into a coma from which she might never wake. It was imperative that they receive medical attention as soon as humanly possible.

After what seemed like an eternity, precious seconds passing by as the tunnel narrowed and walls pulsed around him, there was a pop and fizzle from his earpiece, a firm, yet urgent voice pouring from the mic.

" _Agent Ghost, here: Agents Shinobi and Sandstorm are en route. Hold tight. ETA: 20 seconds. Stay with us!"_

It was the longest twenty seconds of Jaune's entire life. Time seemed to screech to a halt, and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears to the rhythm of his slowing pulse. His vision was darkening at the edges, but he blinked it away as he strained to remain upright, clutching Nora's unconscious body to his chest as if shielding an injured child. His lungs heaved with each breath, his wound feeling numb at the edges, the pain drifting away a bit. Jaune knew this wasn't a good sign; numbness signified that his nerves were shutting down to keep his brain and heart working.

They didn't have long now.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait much longer. Jaune could distantly hear the metallic clangs and banging of the huntsmen on the other side of the door, working to free them from the dungeon of catacombs. Feeling a renewed strength, Jaune hoisted Nora's limp form upward, allowing him to regain full height. As the door finally opened, moonlight poured into the tunnels, and the loud hum and roar of the airship reached his ears. The blonde breathed a sigh of relief.

Ren's face was the first thing he saw, pastel eyes filled with fear, as he reached to unburden Jaune of his partner. A cool, strong grip transferred the unconscious redhead to his other teammate's arms, and Jaune could hear the dark-haired huntsman murmuring gentle words of reassurance against Nora's sweaty temple.

"It's alright. I'm here now. I've got you…"

Jaune felt his chest tighten, twisting his airways and crippling his lungs as he heard the soft, whimpering voice of his female teammate respond. Words were breathed against a pale throat as she wrapped her shaking arms around the other's broad shoulders.

"Ren...can we go home now?"

The dark-haired teen swallowed thickly, whispering back with remorseful, regretful words, "Not yet, Nora. We've still got a lot to do. But you can rest now...I'm not going anywhere without you."

Drawing in an icy gulp of air, Jaune forcibly inflated his lungs as they shrunk away from his ribs at the sight of their intimate exchange. His weight fell forward, only to be caught and supported by a strong, cloaked figure.

"Hey, there, buddy...take it easy. We've got you. We're gonna get you two outta here."

Sun's powerful grip pulled Jaune's right arm over his shoulders, taking most of the Arc's weight against himself as he plunged forward into the biting Atlesian air. It was a pitch-black night, the eerie shadows playing where the moon dared shed no light. The frigid cold filled the icy breeze, stealing the warmth right from his skin, and seeping through his sticky, damp clothing.

Jaune blinked slowly, darkness tugging at the edges of his vision once more.

This time, he didn't try to fight it.

* * *

" _Remember, Jaune, bring your sword higher...excellent. Now, step back, twist, and pivot."_

 _Sweat beaded on his brow, muscles straining under the weight of Pyrrha's attack as she pressed forward, testing his limits. Jaune had learned, very quickly after Team JNPR had been formed, not to underestimate the redhead's strength. She might appear soft and gentle on the outside, but Jaune had never met another girl with the sheer amount of raw power that his partner could focus into melee attacks with a simple blade, save maybe Yang. The difference there was that Yang looked like she could kick your ass; Pyrrha did not._

" _Alright...now, predict my moves...anticipate them."_

 _That was a feat that was far easier in theory than in practice. Pyrrha was so skilled, so well-trained, and so natural with her swordplay that she didn't really broadcast her moves very often. Her body moved mainly on muscle-memory and gut-reactions, which is how she was able to deflect or dodge rapid attacks with a complete confidence and lack of any sort of hesitation. It was why she was called the Invincible Girl - not many could get a hit in on her, and if they did, they weren't likely to land a second one._

 _But Jaune did his best, watching her feet, her hips, and her shoulders - the way her muscles bunched and coiled, the manner in which her hips twisted and swayed as she prepared for a frontal attack vs. a side-step and charge. He had spent months watching her, studying her, and picking apart her techniques and finesse. The blonde would never go as far as to say he had her figured-out, but he was definitely able to detect many of the subtleties and variations in her transitions._

 _So on her next swing, he was ready, throwing his own blade at a 90-degree angle to the ground to catch the tip of Milo, swiping it around to dislodge her attack. She rocked back on her right foot, shifting her weight to the side as she changed her momentum and spun out of the attack at the last possible second to avoid stumbling. Lowering her blade, she smiled brightly, nodding in acknowledgement of his achievement._

" _Well done. Your speed is improving, as well as your form. You would likely have disarmed me with just a bit more confidence behind your counter-strike."_

 _Jaune could feel pride swell in his chest at the compliment, sheathing Crocea Mors, before taking a step toward his partner._

" _Thanks, Pyrrha. These sessions have really helped me out. I can't thank you enough."_

 _He didn't miss the soft smile that played at the corner of her lips, emerald eyes sparkling in the early-evening sun as it began to descend over the modest training field that Team JNPR had booked for the afternoon._

 _Training for the Vytal Festival Tournament had been a priority over the passing weeks, and Jaune was finally starting to feel confident in their decision to compete. They had been working on technique, sparring, and creating combo attacks for hours on end, and there were many improvements to show for it. However, as with all things, it would not be wise to overdo it._

 _Jaune dusted off his hands against the worn denim of his jeans, "I think we should break for now, maybe get some dinner in town. We don't want to wear ourselves out before tomorrow."_

 _Tomorrow - the first day of the Vytal Festival Tournament. The day they would compete as a 4-man team and, hopefully, kick some major butt. Jaune didn't want to get ahead of himself, but he felt like his team really deserved the victory, after all of the hard work they had put into meshing as a cohesive team, as well as growing as strong individuals._

 _At the mention of dinner plans, Ren and Nora migrated back over from their designated practice area, putting their weapons away and joining their teammates._

" _Dinner at Rusty's Brick Oven?" Ren inquired, as this was their usual haunt when dining-out as a team._

 _Nora chimed in, bright smile and thumbs-up signal, as she geared herself up for food, "Definitely! You can never go wrong with pizza."_

 _The walk back to the dorms had been uneventful, and Team JNPR wasted no time in hitting the showers to freshen up. The two huntsmen had gone first, allowing the ladies reign of the bathroom for the remainder of their preparation time. So Jaune and Ren had spent their wait-time flipping through comic books and meditating, respectively._

 _It was about ten minutes into their downtime that Jaune couldn't maintain the silence any longer, his wayfaring thoughts setting a spark of unease in his belly. Tossing the X-Ray and Vav comic book onto the bookcase between his and Pyrrha's beds, he flopped onto his back, heaving a dramatic sigh. Pillowing his head on his hands, he glanced to his left, taking stock of the perfectly still form of his teammate._

 _Lie Ren was an interesting character - abnormally quiet, reserved, and yet incredibly funny and insightful without meaning to be. The dark-haired huntsman sat tailor-style at the foot of his bed, dark jeans hugging his slender legs, as pale hands rested limply on the crests of his knees. His plain, white t-shirt stretched snuggly across his broad shoulders, tapering off to hang loosely about his trim waist. His hair was in its normal low-ponytail, and his pastel eyes were closed, thoughts elsewhere, if anywhere at all._

 _Jaune didn't really understand meditation - at least not on a practical level. He understood the basic concept and the many possible benefits it held for a stressed, overworked mind. However, the blonde had far too many control-issues to allow himself to attain a state of 'nothingness' and 'blank out' his mind._

 _That was probably why he had no real problem interrupting his teammate's current session to broach a rather, well, personal topic that he had been meaning to talk to the other about anyway._

" _Hey, Ren...you gotta minute."_

 _Jaune could see the other bristle slightly, brow furrowing above closed eyes. He let out a deep sigh, dropping his forehead down in a gesture of defeat._

" _Sure, Jaune. What's on your mind?"_

 _Jaune uncurled his hands from behind his head, raising them to observe his bare palms. His blue gaze blinked slowly, before he lowered his hands to smooth over his thin, grey t-shirt, leveling them against his flat stomach, "Are you happy?"_

 _Ren turned to cast him a curious glance, "What do you mean?"_

 _Jaune sighed softly, turning the words over in his head before speaking, sapphire gaze trained on a small water stain on the off-white ceiling, "I mean, you and Nora...how did you…?"_

 _Ren quirked an inky brow, tilting his head in amusement at his leader's odd question, "Jaune...you know Nora and I aren't together. What's this really about? Are you still hung-up over Weiss?"_

 _Jaune's lip curved a fraction into a crooked smile, but he didn't reply right away, merely shaking his head with a brief jerk of his chin. His jaw tightened, as he continued to stare deeply at the ceiling. His mind did not conjure up any images of snow-white hair, porcelain skin, or mysterious baby-blue eyes. Instead, it seemed to solely generate flashes of vermillion hair, ivory skin, and expressive emerald eyes._

 _ **I'm in trouble now, aren't I…?**_

 _Blinking the images from his mind, he closed his eyes slowly, before letting out a tight breath, "No, it's not Weiss. It hasn't been for a while."_

 _Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ren's brow rise, a look of curious surprise sweeping over his pale features, "Oh, but there is_ _ **someone**_ _, isn't there?"_

 _Jaune groaned deeply as he flipped onto his stomach, burying his face in the lumpy pillow. These feelings weren't exactly new to him; they had existed for several months, now. However, the rate at which they were growing lately was startling, and the blonde wasn't entirely sure how to handle them. Turning his face to free his mouth, he met the waiting expression from his teammate, muttering his words against the wrinkled pillowcase._

" _I don't know what to do. It's a...delicate situation. It's more complicated than just crushing on Weiss Schnee."_

 _He folded the pillow beneath his head, propping his chin on a palm and running a callused hand over his features._

" _I'm so scared to mess things up this time. I'm happy with the way things are, but I still can't help but wonder if there could be something more."_

 _A soft, low chuckle met his ears, and his azure eyes darted to the other huntsman, brows shifting as he noticed the secret smile pulling across the other's lips._

" _It's Pyrrha, isn't it?"_

 _Jaune's eyes flew wide, blinking rapidly at the unexpected inquiry. His breaths stuttered out in wordless sighs, but he just couldn't seem to form the correct syllables to convey his answer. He finally just surrendered, burying his face back in the pillow to mask the flush spreading across the crests of his cheeks._

 _Ren's chuckles faded into a raspy snicker, long, pale arms reaching back to brace his weight on slender palms as he regarded his leader. Blinking his pastel eyes in appraisal, he shook his head, before letting out a sigh of mirth._

" _It's alright, Jaune. It's not a crime to fall for your best friend…"_

 _There was something in Ren's words that tugged a thread in Jaune's psyche. Those were the words of someone who knew...someone who had experienced this first-hand._

 _ **They're not 'together', huh? Well, let's see how long it takes…**_

 _As interesting as that train of thought might be, Jaune knew this wasn't about his two other teammates, and that it wouldn't be fair of him to deflect the conversation onto Ren in such a manner. This was_ _ **his**_ _problem, and he needed to take responsibility for it without running from it like a stupid kid._

 _Ren's next words suggested just that._

" _Why don't you just talk to her about it?"_

 _Jaune's gut clenched at the thought, imagining all the ways that conversation could end in a less-than-favorable way. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was make things awkward between himself and his partner, and talking to her about it seemed a surefire way to do just that._

" _Yeah, right...that couldn't possibly end badly, could it?"_

 _Ren sighed on a broken laugh, head tipping back to gaze out the window toward the small courtyard below, "Jaune, really," he chastised the blonde, straightening one leg to dangle off the edge of the bed, "Do you honestly think she would belittle you for your feelings?"_

 _Jaune groaned again, flipping over onto his back once more, hands folding over his pounding heart as he nervously shook his head._

" _What if she doesn't feel the same about me? I don't really have a great track record in this area."_

 _Ren smoothed long, narrow fingers over the red comforter, tilting his head in a manner that suggested he was holding something back._

" _I don't think that's a worry you need to have in this situation. However, assuming she didn't feel the same, what's the worst that could happen?"_

 _Jaune threw his hands up into the air, gesturing wildly at the ridiculous question,"Uh, things could get really awkward for the next three years?"_

 _That deep chuckle was back, but this time it was accompanied by words that struck Jaune in the pride._

" _Jaune, I like to think that both of you are a bit more mature than that."_

 _The blonde frowned at the words - they made sense. Pyrrha would never be rude to, or make fun of, him for confessing his feelings to her. She had never done it with any of the other people who had approached her for the same reason, so why did he think she would treat him any more negatively. It was unfair of him to assume such things about her, especially when he had no real evidence to back up such a flawed concern._

 _That didn't mean he felt any better about the prospect of confronting her._

 _Allowing his hands to drop limply against the mattress, Jaune stared back at the ceiling, listening to the idle chatter from the hallway as students passed by outside._

 _When Ren's next words reached his ears, he found his eyes widening in surprise and his heart skipping behind his ribs._

" _You asked me if I was happy...with Nora," there was a soft rustle of fabric as his teammate adjusted his position on the bed, "Now, I don't know much about love, but I do know this: Nora and I have been all each other had for many years now. We are, for all intents and purposes, family."_

 _The dark-haired huntsman pulled a leg up to his chest, cupping his palm over his knee to lean forward, "However, a day eventually came where I looked over at her, and the world didn't feel quite as empty as it had before. She was no longer just the little girl I had grown up with. She was someone new; someone softer and sweeter and...just so much_ _ **more**_ _."_

 _Jaune blinked, startled by his teammate's words. He had reached out to Ren, prepared to hear the other tell him that he would need to sacrifice this feelings for the sake of their team. He had been prepared to allow the dark-haired teen to feed him the resolve he would need to cast off these feelings and try to move on._

" _Ren…" he whispered, rolling to his side to lock eyes with his male teammate._

 _The other's face bore a soft, gentle smile, his magenta eyes gazing toward the bathroom door as he elaborated, "Not all love appears upon meeting that special person. Sometimes it takes a while to reveal itself. But when it does, everything changes, and it's impossible to return to the way things were before."_

 _A pale hand raked through midnight strands, toying briefly with the lock of fuchsia that decorated the left side of his head, "I can't tell you what the best course of action would be for your specific situation. However, I can promise you one thing," his eyes locked onto Jaune's from across the way, an intensity present that the blonde had never seen in them, "You'll regret it much more deeply if you don't even try, because a feeling as powerful as love doesn't ever go away."_

* * *

Peeling his eyes open to a bleary awareness, Jaune felt as if his body were made of lead, sinking into the stiff mattress like an anvil. He registered that he was propped on his right side, a pillow wedged beneath both his bare chest and back to keep him off of the healing wounds. Thick, tightly-wrapped bandages itched around his midsection, abrasive against the inflamed flesh beneath them.

His blue eyes burned, grainy from exhaustion and strain, and he could still feel the lingering tightness in his chest from before he'd lost consciousness. His brow cinched, as he levered himself onto his right elbow, upsetting the thin sheet that had been draped over his body, causing it to pool at his hips. Dull pain ached through his torso, and he paused for breath.

Glancing around the room with heavy lids he caught sight of the bed directly across from him. His heart constricted within his chest at the sight that greeted him, a strangled breath exiting his lungs on a tight hiss.

 _Nora…_

The occupant of the bed lie prone, several tubes and wires attached to her arms and chest, and an oxygen mask over her face. The sheet was drawn to her waist, and she was clad in a sterile, white smock. Her skin was sickly pale, and a thin sheen of perspiration coated her entire form, her chest rising and falling with short, shallow breaths. Occasionally, she would twitch slightly, a soft jerk in her head or fingers, and Jaune wondered if that was a normal result of blood loss.

As he moved to pull himself to a sitting position, he felt a firm, smooth hand on his naked shoulder, guiding him back down to the mattress.

"Please, don't move too much, Jaune. You need to let your aura do it's job for a little while longer."

Blinking up to gaze upon the other, he was met with a frowning, very concerned, and exhausted-looking Lie Ren. The dark-haired huntsman had changed out of his uniform and into a black t-shirt and white-linen pants. His hair hung loosely about his shoulders, damp from a recent shower, and the dark shadows beneath his eyes told Jaune he had not slept well in quite some time.

The hand dragged from its place at his leader's shoulder, upward to cradle the side of Jaune's head, pressing it gently back to the pillow, as blue, panic-filled eyes flashed back and forth between the two teammates.

"Jaune, please...Nora will be alright. She just needs some time to heal. Her injuries were extensive, but she'll pull through."

The blonde didn't miss the tremor in the other's normally steady voice - the words obviously just as much for himself as they were for his leader. Jaune's flaxen brow furrowed once more, his voice cracking past his parched, scratchy throat.

"What happened to her? How long have I…?"

Ren's fingers pressed against his lips, quieting him as he reached for a bottle of water. Assisting the blonde in taking a few hydrating sips, his voice leveled out as he began to speak.

"It's been about ten hours since we made it out of the Schnee Compound. It'll be another day or so before we reach Mistral. Winter chose an alternate route to avoid being tailed by any who might pursue us."

Jaune's frown smoothed itself out a bit as he watched the other flop down into the chair between the two beds, a pale hand rubbing roughly over Ren's porcelain features.

"As for Nora...her injuries were worse than we had initially thought."

Jaune's heart skipped a beat at the statement, and he twisted his fingers against the sheets, jaw clenched in anxiety and fear.

Ren seemed to pick up on it, but pushed through the debriefing, pale hands lacing together in his lap as he glanced over at his partner.

"We can only assume what happened, as she has yet to regain consciousness to provide that information. There were signs of her having fallen or smashed into something at great speed, as her left hip was dislocated. There was also a very deep, Stage 3 laceration on her upper thigh, which took minor surgery to close."

Ren's brows drew down in a deep frown, eyes blinking slowly, and jaw clenching as he swallowed thickly around the next words, "Furthermore, the wound appeared to be poisoned, and I have my suspicions as to what may have caused it."

Jaune choked at the words, breath coming faster now as his head swam with anxiety. Nora had been poisoned? What could possibly have…?

His eyes widened in speculation, blinking back to catch Ren's gaze, "You don't think…"

A dark sigh was his answer, pastel eyes sliding shut, as Ren reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose through thumb and forefinger, "The medics were able to extract a small sample of the toxin, and have sent it to the lab for analysis. However, I could tell just by the smell what it was…"

Jaune's right hand fisted against the mattress, his left moving to cover his mouth, holding in his emotion as Ren released a stuttering sigh.

"It was King Taijitu venom...the kind that comes from the little ones; you know, the ones the size of normal snakes? The toxin is thicker, taking longer to make its way through the bloodstream, since very little is excreted upon injection."

The invisible weight on the dark-haired huntsman's shoulders pressed him down into the chair, his right hand reaching over to lace with the slender, limp fingers of his partner.

"It's not uncommon for more advanced huntsman, and even military specialists to coat their weapons and traps in such toxins. The main drawback is that it's three-times more potent than the adult venom, and it causes necrosis if not treated in a specific window of opportunity."

He let out a shuddering sigh, as he sank back into his chair, "She's lucky to be alive, and it's a miracle that she didn't lose her leg…they caught it just in time."

Jaune could feel the tears of anger and frustration burning at the backs of his eyes, moisture blurring his vision and a thick lump forming in his throat. A pressure began to grow in his head, and he could feel his wounds itch and sting as his body tensed against the emotion he was attempting to suppress.

"I'm so sorry, Ren...she didn't tell me...I should have asked when I saw the blood…"

"Jaune, it wasn't your fault. It wouldn't have changed the outcome. You did everything you could, and for that I am grateful."

A whirlwind of thoughts assaults Jaune's brain, too many for him to settle on something to say in response. The whole situation was a mess, and he hated himself for thinking that there might have been something else he could have done to avoid this outcome. If only he had pressed her for details on her wound. If only he had carried her from the start, instead of forcing her to walk on it and speed the poison's journey through her veins. If only he had thought to tie a tourniquet above the wound to staunch the bleeding.

 _If only, if only, if only…_

After what seemed like ages, he finally breathed, a trembling in his shoulders skating down his spine.

"She told me to leave her behind…to go on without her."

Ren's body jerked slightly in his chair as he came upright, grip tightening on Nora's hand, as he stared at Jaune with wide, disbelieving eyes, "What?! **Nora**?"

Jaune nodded silently, speaking bluntly, but not unkindly, "It was right after she started to lose consciousness. She told me to get out of there, to save myself...I refused. I won't lose anyone else needlessly, at least not while I can do something about it."

Ren smiled bitterly, absentmindedly running his thumb over the back of Nora's petite hand in his own, "Then I owe you much more than a 'thank you', Jaune…"

The blonde felt his heart give a painful twitch in his chest, watching the way Ren so easily displayed his care for the wounded huntress. Jaune felt a sinking sadness, realizing, for a countless time, that he would never get the chance to do that. He had missed his chance...he had been too slow, too fickle, too indecisive...too _late_.

"Ren…"

Fuchsia eyes blinked slowly, the dark-haired huntsman refusing to tear them away from the redhead beside him, "Yeah?"

Jaune closed his eyes against the waves of pain, unsure whether they were emotional or physical. Twisting his long fingers in the thin fabric of the sheets, he allowed himself to sink into the mattress, clinging to the final vestiges of his self-control - willing the tears not to fall.

"Please, take your own advice…"

Confused eyes glanced his way, but Jaune did not meet them, merely staring blankly at his teammates' joined hands against the stark white medical sheet.

"I beg your pardon?"

The blonde allowed his eyes to slip closed, unable to witness their exchange any longer, "When Nora wakes up...please...tell her how you feel, if you haven't already. Don't be like me and lose your chance."

Jaune felt the first tears escape the corners of his eyes, burning down his cheeks, and sinking into the lumpy pillow below his head. He turned his face into the pillow briefly, to wipe them away, but Ren's voice called him back, twisting the knife deeper within his already aching chest.

"Why didn't you ever tell Pyrrha...about how you felt?"

That was the question that haunted Jaune through every waking moment of every miserable day. In the grand scheme of mistakes that he had made in his life, that was the one that took first prize. It was a stupid, irreparable, and heart-shattering error, stemming from a gross miscalculation on his part. Gritting his teeth against the fresh wave of tears accumulating beneath his lids, he managed to force out those naive, cliche words he had fed himself for months before the end.

"I thought she and I would have more time."

It was the honest-to-God truth: Jaune had planned on having three more years at Beacon Academy, three more years to grow up, and three more years to take his time getting his life in order. Three years before he was supposed to worry about mortality and loss. Three years where he could take his time and do things the right way for both of them. Jaune had planned to go with the flow and let a relationship between them evolve naturally, without unnecessary pressures or expectations.

Jaune had thought he had three years more than he actually did, and that is what broke his heart a little more, every day that _he_ woke up and _she_ didn't.

"So, please, Ren...don't leave anything unsaid…"

* * *

The view of the night sky from the airship's rooftop observatory was nothing short of stunning. From the aircraft's high vantage point, the stars twinkled like flawlessly cut gems against the black velvet backdrop, so much closer than he had ever perceived them.

Jaune's still-healing wound was beginning to ache from his awkward perch on the window ledge, the cold metal of the frame biting into the space between his shoulder blades through the thin cotton of his faded grey t-shirt. The bandages remained wrapped tightly around his midsection, compressing his lungs to ward off pneumonia, and forcing him to take shallow, slow breaths.

Things were a mess.

Nora was still unconscious; Ren had finally passed out at her bedside; they were still at least twelve hours away from Mistral; and they had no real idea what to expect once they arrived at their destination. There were definitely tasks which needed to be completed, but beyond that, Jaune was at a loss. When all of this was said and done...when the war was won and the missions completed, where did that leave them? Were they supposed to just pick up where they left off? Were they expected to just rebuild and start fresh?

Jaune wasn't sure he could successfully handle either of those options. Beyond the scope of their current mission, he hadn't really taken the time to reflect on their future as huntsmen and huntresses. At the present, he honestly couldn't fathom ever reaching the point where making that decision would matter. If he somehow managed to survive this, he wasn't sure what he planned to do with the rest of his life.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Jaune startled slightly, blue eyes widening as his head spun to meet the visitor, breath catching as his gaze fell upon a tired-looking Weiss Schnee.

Her hair was piled atop her head in a messy, white bun, snowy bangs framing her face like soft cotton. Her makeup was gone, revealing the smudges of shadow beneath her grey-blue eyes, the scar over her left standing in stark contrast to the sallow hue of her skin. Her thin lips were angled in an expression of weary resignation, and her shoulders sank back against the opposite side of the window, as she climbed to rest across from Jaune on the sill.

Her slender arms wrapped tightly around herself, rubbing up and down the sleeves of her white hoodie for warmth. Her left knee drew up to her chest, leaving her right leg to hang limply at her side, socked foot brushing the floor with gentle swings.

"Stargazing is something I'd never really done until recently," her words were soft, almost wistful, as she turned her eyes to the sky beyond the glass, "Though, being cooped up in your room for weeks will make you reevaluate the usage of your time."

She picked a loose thread at the hem of her faded jeans, fraying the edges with nervous fingers as her tone shifted.

"Jaune...I didn't come up here to talk your ear off about 'letting go' and 'moving forward'. I'm sure you've heard that enough from everyone else. You don't need it from me, too."

Jaune blinked slowly, feeling himself relax slightly against the window-frame at her reassurance. His eyes gazed back at her, taking in her slightly gaunt profile and listening as she began to speak in earnest.

"I lost someone very dear to me as well. It happened many years ago, but I still remember it as if it were still fresh."

Her narrow shoulders leaned into the harsh surface of the sill, the crown of her head knocking against it with a soft 'thump' as she gazed at the heavens, "I remember watching her take her last breath...the exact moment that her soul left her body. I still see that moment in my dreams, from time to time."

Jaune ached for her in that moment - physically pained at the mere thought of watching a loved one die. He suddenly felt rather selfish. Here he was struggling to deal with the idea that he would never see his partner again. But there was Weiss, having to cope with the memory of losing someone dear to her - having them leave this world right before her very eyes. His grief seemed to pale in comparison, and he couldn't stop the surge of guilt that bubbled up from his gut at the thought.

"I know what you're thinking, Jaune, and you can stop that train of thought right now," her tone left no room for argument, "Your pain is in no way inferior to mine. A loss is a loss. It doesn't matter who, what, when, where, why, or how...we all suffer just the same."

There was a moment of thick, heavy silence, and Jaune swore he could hear his heart breaking in his chest all over again. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen; this wasn't a part of the greater plan he had made for his future. But, then again, things rarely went to plan in Jaune's life - fate loved to throw him curve-balls every time he turned around. Recently he had found himself in a constant state of 'if only' and it was really starting to wear on him.

 _If only_ he had known the day he met Pyrrha in the locker room before initiation began, that she would be his greatest advocate and strongest support. Maybe he would have taken the time to listen to her words, instead of shoving her aside in favor of harassing the girl who now sat across from him.

 _If only_ he had known that the moment she had unlocked his aura in the Emerald Forest, that she would always have a special place in his heart and soul. Maybe then he would have soaked in every second of that contact and realized the unbreakable bond she had suddenly formed with him.

 _If only_ he had known the night he rebuked her on that rooftop and told her to leave him alone after confessing his sins, that he would wish for those lost moments back. Maybe he wouldn't have been so hasty in his machismo.

 _If only_ he had known the days they trained on that same rooftop, that he would forever cherish her patience and tenacity. Maybe he wouldn't have taken her precious time for granted and seen just how important he was to her.

 _If only_ he had known the day he'd made light of her - knowing with such naive certainty that she would get a date to the dance - that he would have seen the hurt and hopelessness in her eyes and been able to react appropriately. Maybe he would have had the guts to invite her himself.

 _If only_ he had known upon seeing her on that empty balcony under the stars, that gorgeous red dress hugging every smooth curve of her flawless body, that he should have had the courage to ask her to dance right then and there. Maybe he could have saved himself precious time that was now forever lost.

 _If only_ he had known the day they returned from saving Vale after the train-wrecked Grimm invasion, retiring to their dorm to watch silly movies and bond over popcorn, that he only had one more year with her. Maybe he would have had the sense to spend more time getting to know her on a more personal level, instead of goofing off with Nora.

 _If only_ he had known the day he'd watched her whoop ten kinds of ass on Team CRDL in front of the whole sparring class, that she was doing it for him. Maybe he would have listened to his gut that was telling him she was something special he would never find anywhere else.

 _If only_ he had known the time he had frustratedly explained their team attack name, Arkos, to her in the arena, that she was secretly smiling inside at the nickname. Maybe he would have realized the irony and foreshadowing in his own words.

 _If only_ he had known the day of her doubles round with Nora, that he was absolutely in love with her. Maybe he would have been able to understand that the butterflies he was feeling while watching her were not just indigestion from the noodles he had eaten that afternoon.

 _If only_ he had known the moment he had placed his hand over her own as they sat outside the cafeteria, that this would be the only chance he got to do this. Maybe he would have realized just how much she really needed that contact at that very moment, then sought to do it many more times that evening.

 _If only_ he had known the moment she threw him against the wall, tears falling from her eyes in shock and remorse, that she had never intended for her semblance to lash out like that, and that she had never been more conflicted by anything in her life, and he had merely said the right words at the wrong time. Maybe he would have gone after her.

 _If only_ he had known the moment before her singles round began, that there was a part of her soul that would never leave that arena completely whole again. Maybe he would have reminded her just how good and wonderful and worthy of a person she really was.

 _If only_ he had known the 15-minute airship ride back to Beacon, where their team had exchanged quiet words tucked away in the corner, that this would be the last time they ever bonded as a team. Maybe he would have tried harder to find the right words to say to keep her from making such a heartbreaking decision.

 _If only_ he had known the moment he turned at the sounds of her screams from the cryogenic pod behind him, that Cinder was going to ambush them at their most vulnerable moment. Maybe he would have ignored them and done his damned job of guarding the hallway so that, maybe, the other girl wouldn't have been killed before the transfer was complete.

 _If only_ he had known the moment she had turned her determined green eyes back toward the tower, after they had stopped just past the steps, that she was about to embark on a suicide mission. Maybe he wouldn't have lost his senses, because he should have seen this coming. Then, maybe, he would have had the sense to grab onto her and not let go.

 _If only_ he had known the moment she grabbed his face between her gloved palms and kissed him senseless, that their first kiss would also be their last. Maybe he would have found his mind and taken the time to savor each breathy sigh and brush of lips, committing them to memory.

 _If only_ he had known all of these things, then maybe he wouldn't have had to stand over a memorial stone, wishing that he had done things differently - and wondering if he might have been able to stop this all before it had even started.

His breath stung in his lungs, eyes glistening with unshed tears as he turned them back to Weiss, whispering words laced with a mixture of both hurt and hope.

"Does the pain ever go away?"

Weiss blinked her tired eyes, gazing back out at the endless night sky, as she tilted her head to regard him with a remorseful expression. Her words were soft, yet there was something in her voice that caused him to flinch in response.

"No, you just learn to live with that pain, and you use it to get stronger, so you never have to feel that same hurt for anyone else."


	7. End of the Dream

**Chapter 7: End of the Dream**

 _The steady bass beat reverberated off the stone walls and glass windows of the ballroom, and Jaune could feel them thumping against his ribs in their pulsating vibrations. The saccharine scent of the mist emitted from fog machines tickled his nose, causing him to wrinkle it as he waved the haze away from his face. Standing from his seat, he adjusted the tulle skirt of the strapless cocktail dress he wore, shaking his head in amusement at the way the night had turned out._

 _Never had he thought he would end the evening donning the frilly monstrosity his 19-year old sister had snuck into his bag as a childish prank. The little ladies at home had always loved to dress him up and paint his face growing up, and it was a wonder to Jaune that he had even an ounce of masculinity left in his body. However, the gag had been worth it to see the delightedly astonished expression on his redheaded partner's face when he had approached her an hour prior._

 _Grabbing his and Pyrrha's empty blue cups, he knocked a hip against the back of her chair, addressing the woman whose green eyes stared off into the crowd._

" _Hey, you want a refill?"_

 _A polite, yet sincere smile quirked at the corner of her apricot-glossed lips, as she shook her head gently, "No thank you, Jaune. I've had enough punch for one evening."_

 _Nodding silently, he stood beside the table, an awkward moment passing as he shifted in his low-top sneakers. What was once a classical, tasteful ballroom affair was now transitioning into a risque, gauche rave club. The fog machines pumped a heavy mist throughout the hall; multi-colored, flashing lights bounced off the walls and windows, creating a kaleidoscopic effect; and rough beats accompanied by nonsensical, and somewhat vulgar, lyrics began to fill the air, pulling most of the singles and all of the couples to the floor._

 _Jaune couldn't help but frown slightly; this wasn't really his 'thing'. He was classically trained in ballroom dancing, as well as two-step and swing. He picked up choreography fairly easily, but there was just something odd to him about grinding up against another person in the middle of a crowd. It wasn't exactly his idea of sensual or desirable. Jaune didn't have any real experience with girls to speak of, but he figured that, when he finally did, he wanted it to be a bit more special than a rut-fest in a sea of sweaty bodies._

 _Sighing softly, shoulders dropping at his distaste, he turned his eyes back to Pyrrha who, surprisingly, appeared to be sharing the same sentiment as he. Her brows were knitted above her eyes, which were blinking in disapproval at the lewd and inappropriate gyrations of the crowd. Her fingers were laced before her, but he could tell from the stiffness in her shoulders that she was about ready to bolt._

 _Raising a flaxen brow in inquiry, he nudged her left shoulder with his elbow, "You wanna get outta here?"_

 _Her emerald eyes blinked rapidly for a moment, as if surprised at his words, but she immediately began to stand, adjusting her dress and smoothing her pale hands down the crimson fabric._

" _Absolutely."_

 _Without further hesitation, they made their exit from the noisy, vibrating hall, plunging into the cool night air and the welcome quiet. Jaune's ears still rang slightly from the reverberating music, and his skin felt a bit sticky from the synthetic fog, but the peaceful nighttime atmosphere of the secondary courtyard was far preferable to the noisy, too-bright alternative._

 _Their journey began as a silent one, save for the soft clicks of Pyrrha's heels and the gentle cadence of midnight crickets as they made their way back toward the dorms. The cobblestone path stretched out before them, stars twinkling against a sheet of onyx sky, and Jaune found his gaze fixing on his partner beside him._

 _He wasn't going to lie; she looked stunning. That silky red dress hugged each one of her subtle curves, clinging to her narrow waist and the gentle flair of her hips. The symmetrical slits at either side of her toned calves reached the middle of her slender thighs, dragging smoothly apart with each step she took - an alluring tease of pale flesh peeking out with the motion._

" _So..seven sisters?"_

 _Her voice caught him off-guard, his eyes flashing to meet her own, afraid that she had caught him staring. He felt a surge of relief when he realize her own eyes were pointed toward the sky, mapping out the constellations as her soft, calm voice breathed out on a sigh. He chuckled slightly, rubbing a callused hand over the back of his head as he responded with a tight smile._

" _Yeah, they're quite a handful at times."_

 _Jaune observed as Pyrrha's expression shifted to one of wistful reverie, her mind transporting her to another place, though her viridian eyes remained locked on the night sky._

" _Tell me about them…"_

 _Jaune's voice seemed to catch in his throat for a moment at the redolent tone beneath her request. He watched as her arms rose to cross over her chest, smooth palms rubbing over her toned biceps against the breeze, as she finally blinked her gaze to rest upon him. A gentle smile played at the corner of her lips, her right brow arching in bemusement._

" _Well?"_

 _The blonde snapped his jaw shut, nodding curtly at her obvious interest, and he suddenly wished he had pockets in which to shove his nervous hands. He opted to clasp them at his back, eyes_

 _turning up once more, "Well, what do you want to know?"_

 _A soft 'hmm' fell from her lips, and she seemed to ponder his words for a moment, before dropping her hands back to her sides and kicking at a rock on the pavement, "Well, what are their names? How old are they? What are they like? Are you the oldest?"_

 _Jaune shook his head at the thought, his tight smirk shifting to a genuine smile, as he began to fiddle with the bow at his waist, "No, I'm not the oldest. I'm actually toward the middle of the lineup. I'm the third child. I have two older, and four younger, sisters."_

 _Pyrrha nodded at that, running the flat of her hand along the metal guardrail as they passed over a short, stone bridge through the water-gardens that separated the main campus from the residence halls. Taking a few more steps, she slowed her gait, before ultimately stopping to lean over the thick bars, glancing down into the turquoise, back-lit fishpond._

 _Jaune came to a stop next to her, bracing his forearms against the iron bars, blue eyes gazing out over the lush vegetation and ears catching the trickling sound of flowing water beneath them._

" _My oldest sister turns twenty-one next month. Her name is Fern, and she just graduated from Beacon last year, actually."_

 _Pyrrha's brows rose in surprise, her chin tilting in interest, yet her eyes never left the swimming fish below, "Really? How nice. Does she take many missions in Vale?"_

 _Jaune shook his head briefly, "Not really...she mainly sticks to the Signal area. She's kind of a homebody."_

 _That seemed to get Pyrrha's full attention, her green eyes sliding to lock onto his profile, as she rested her weight on her left elbow, angling her body toward him, "Oh, is your family from Signal?"_

 _Nodding in affirmation, Jaune slanted his chin toward his partner, leveling her with a reminiscent look, before casting his eyes back to the gardens, "Yeah, we've lived there for five generations now. My dad has a little farm out in the country that's been in the family for a long time."_

" _So_ _ **that's**_ _why you said you could always become a farmer."_

 _Jaune blinked in surprise, her words not really registering, "Pardon?"_

 _There was a soft chuckle from the redhead, before she pushed off of the railing, crossing her arms back over her chest, and flicking her emerald eyes heavenward once more._

" _Last semester, the first time I approached you about training and practicing together...you said you could always be a farmer if Beacon didn't work out for you. The family farm was always a fallback, wasn't it?"_

 _He blinked in realization, bowing his head slightly at the shameful memory of his immature behavior around that time, "Yeah, you could say that. Not exactly my ideal future, but it would have been better than nothing."_

 _The memory hung heavily around them for a few moments more, neither willing to discuss it any further. As Jaune pushed away from the railing to stand upright, Pyrrha began walking once more, moving to cross over the bridge and continue their stroll to their dorm. He moved quickly to follow her, falling in step beside the redhead as she changed the subject._

" _So, what of your other sisters?"_

 _Allowing a relieved sigh to escape his chest, Jaune's lips quirked in a proud smile, "Ah, next would be Holly. She just turned nineteen a few weeks ago. She's the one responsible for this amazing get-up. She's currently studying at a University in Vacuo. She's training to be a doctor. She wasn't really interested in the huntress lifestyle. Says it's too violent, and that she'd rather save lives than take them."_

 _Pyrrha hummed in acknowledgement, nodding as she clasped her hands before her, "That's an ambitious job-choice. I never had the patience for the level of study required to attend any sort of purely academic institution."_

 _Jaune barked out a disbelieving laugh, and turned an incredulous look toward his partner, "Lack of patience, Pyrrha? You? I'll believe that when I see it. You're the most patient person I know. You'd have to be to put up with me."_

 _Shaking her head, ponytail swaying at her waist, Pyrrha blinked slowly at him, "Oh, Jaune, you aren't difficult to work with. Besides, I haven't always been the person you see today. I've done a lot of growing up in the last few years."_

 _Reaching out to absentmindedly snag a wilting flower from one of the bushes lining their path, Jaune laughed once more, shaking his head as he smirked. He almost missed the brief look of melancholy that passed over his teammate's expression. It was there and gone again so fast that he had to wonder if he'd really seen it at all._

 _Jaune did_ _ **not**_ _miss the light tension preceding her words, a soft frown tugging at her vermilion brows as she cleared her throat softly, "So, your third sister?"_

 _Whatever she had been feeling, it didn't seem as if she were planning to discuss it with him at the moment. Jaune decided to follow her lead, intent on not spoiling the mood of the evening that he had sacrificed his pride and image to salvage._

" _Oh, yeah...well, she's a special case."_

 _That seemed to capture Pyrrha's attention, pulling her thoughts away from whatever dangerous territory they had been skirting. Her green eyes turned to him once more, right brow quirking in interest at his word-choice, " Special? How so?"_

 _Jaune wasn't sure why he felt anxious telling her this, but he definitely couldn't deny the tension coiling in his belly and fluttering through his chest at the prospect of sharing intimate details about his home-life. But this was Pyrrha, and if he couldn't trust in her for support and understanding, then who else could he possibly turn to?_

" _Well, she's the same age as I am...we're actually fraternal twins. She's older than me by about_

 _fifteen minutes."_

 _Something shifted in Pyrrha's eyes, and she looked a lot more astounded than he had expected her to. Sure, he had imagined she would be surprised and amused by the information, but he hadn't expected a very weighty, nostalgic expression to pass over her features at the realization._

" _You're serious?!"_

 _Jaune's brows shot up in suspicion at her disbelieving tone, taking in the almost shell-shocked expression and reaching out a hand to rest on her shoulder, "Yeah, I'm serious. Why is that so hard to believe? Is everything alright? You seem bothered by-"_

" _So, what's her name?"_

 _Jaune blinked a few times at the interruption. It was so unlike Pyrrha to be avoidant with him or even appear troubled by anything at all. She was always so easy-going and graceful in her interactions with others that he was having a difficult time figuring out what he had said to throw her off-kilter._

" _Um, well, her name is Jade. It's actually kinda funny - she's the complete opposite of me. She's really quiet, reserved, and kinda reminds me of Ren at times."_

 _Suddenly, Pyrrha's expression softened, her eyes slipping closed for a moment, as she murmured softly, "Oh, really?"_

 _Jaune wondered at the sudden switch in attitude, but chose instead to forgive it for now. He wasn't in a hurry to revisit that lapse in her character._

" _She's always locking herself in her room and building stuff. That's her passion - taking things apart and putting them back together from memory. She's a really tactile person, so she can sometimes get too far into your personal space. She always reaches out and touches you when she talks - says it's just how she connects with others. She's kinda socially awkward because of that."_

 _Pyrrha chuckled softly at that, seemingly caught up in a memory of her own. Her fingertips trailed over the low-hanging branches of a bare dogwood tree as they passed it by, green eyes blinking slowly as she spoke, "She sounds like a very sweet girl."_

 _Jaune nodded as they rounded the corner toward the row of residence halls, his eyes tracing his partner's profile as he continued._

" _Yeah, she's great. I think she and my fourth sister, Teal get along the best. Teal is turning thirteen this summer, and she's heading to Signal Academy in the fall. Just got her acceptance letter a few days ago."_

" _Oh, how nice!" Pyrrha's face brightened at his words, genuinely happy for his sister's success,_

" _I'm sure she'll do great."_

 _Jaune took a moment to really appreciate how nice it was to have someone like Pyrrha to talk to about things like this. Topics as mundane as naming off his sisters and describing his family - these were things that not many would willingly sit through, much less invest themselves in a full conversation. Pyrrha seemed to be taking an active interest, and that really made Jaune feel valued - like he was important enough to her to warrant that kind of attention._

" _My youngest three sisters are Olive - who's eight, Laurel - who's five, and Myrtle - who's three. They spend most of their time playing dress-up, hide-and-seek, and making mud pies. They are your typical kids: silly, giggling, tickle-monsters."_

 _Pyrrha laughed softly at that, her melodic tones filling the air around them and disappearing on the breeze that stroked over them as they reached the entrance to their residence hall, "They sound like a lot of fun. I hope I can meet them one day. If they're anything like you, I believe we'll get along very well."_

 _Jaune felt a strange swell in his chest at the prospect of bringing Pyrrha home to meet his parents. He had never brought a girl home before. Even though he and Pyrrha were simply teammates, it didn't make it any less thrilling to imagine. The thought of his redheaded partner playing hide-and-seek with his baby sisters, chatting idly with Teal and Holly, or assisting Jade with one of her experiments caused Jaune's head to spin slightly at the emotions it stirred-up._

 _He had never really thought of how Pyrrha, or his other teammates for that matter, would interact with his family. The thought was evocative one._

" _I think my mom would really like you. You're everything she has hoped I would bring home one day."_

 _The redhead slowed slightly beside him as they made their way up the first flight of steps. If she had faltered, she concealed it expertly, lifting a hand to slide over the wooden banister once they had reached the top, "What gives you that idea?"_

 _Jaune pondered only briefly, hands moving to his waistband to remove his scroll as they approached the second staircase, "Well, you're kind, funny, talented, and you put up with me like a pro. Not just anyone can do that. Plus, you have big, pretty, green eyes."_

 _This time Pyrrha did hesitate slightly in her step, causing Jaune to pause briefly to remain at her side, "I beg your pardon?"_

 _Jaune mentally slapped himself at the impulsive words that had fallen from his lips. Pyrrha had no context, so of course it sounded silly. Chuckling nervously as they began walking once more, he ran a hand through his messy hair, "Well, if you haven't gathered from my sisters' names, my mom's favorite color is green."_

 _Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pyrrha nod silently, turning the corner to make their way up the third flight of stairs, "She loves green eyes the most - it was the first thing that attracted her to my dad. She was a bit disappointed that all of her children ended up with her blue eyes, instead. I think she would like me to bring home a green-eyed girl, hoping I might give her a green-eyed grandchild."_

 _It was Pyrrha's turn to produce nervous laughter, and Jaune suddenly felt foolish once more. What in the world were some of the words coming out of his mouth? She probably thought him a complete idiot, talking about things like bringing a girl with specific eye-color home to meet the parents, or talking about having kids when they weren't even in a relationship yet._

 _ **Whoa...wait a minute...YET?**_

 _Jaune could feel a flush breaking out on the back of his neck and shoulders, and was suddenly thankful for the dimness of the stairwell lamps. What had prompted that thought? Sure, Pyrrha was very attractive, and he would be lying if he said he didn't think she would be a great wife and mother one day, but he had never really ever entertained the thought of being in a relationship with her. What surprised him more, though, was that the thought of it didn't really seem all that crazy to him now._

 _Was that something that he was interested in? Pursuing a relationship with Pyrrha Nikos? The thought, while odd and uncharted, caused a warmth to simmer in his chest. He'd have to think about what that meant later, since the subject of his thoughts was currently silent and slightly stiff in her gait._

 _As they reached the top of the steps, quickly working their way around to the fourth flight of stairs, he noted Pyrrha's silence and decided to divert the impending awkwardness._

" _So, what about you? Do you have any siblings? You've mentioned that you lived with your mom, but you've never said anything about any brothers or sisters. Are you an only child?"_

 _The shift in topic seemed to knock the redhead out of whatever strange mood had previously settled over her, and she cleared her throat softly as they reached the top of the narrow stairwell,_

" _Well, no, I am not an only child. I actually have two siblings back in Mistral."_

 _Jaune's brow rose in surprise, having fully expected Pyrrha to confirm his suspicions that she had no siblings. Making their way down the dimly lit corridor toward their room, he readied his scroll, awaiting her elaboration._

 _Her eyes lost the sharpness they had gained earlier in the conversation, and that faint, wistful expression was back on her face once more. Her lips turned upward in a pretty smile, and her eyes seemed to shimmer with barely-restrained excitement as she began to speak._

" _My family is unusually small for a standard Mistrali household. Normally, a young couple has a house full of children by the time they are my mother's age. I believe the average household in Mistral has six to nine children, but several have more than that."_

 _Jaune's eyes flashed wide at the statistic, "Huh, and I thought my family was freakishly large. Seems we'd fit right in where you come from."_

 _Pyrrha nodded slightly, pausing for Jaune to scan his scroll at their door, "Indeed. It seems we were born to the wrong kingdoms for our household demographics."_

 _The blonde chuckled softly at her statement, holding the door open for her to enter, "You're not wrong. But anyway, tell me about them."_

 _The redhead made her way into the room, kicking her heels off into the corner, as Jaune closed the door behind her, flipping the desk lamp on for illumination. He observed her as she lifted her headpiece off and placed it gently atop her study desk, before running a long-fingered hand through her crimson bangs._

" _I'd be happy to, Jaune. But first, I must insist that you change out of that ghastly gown. I believe you have already proven your point, and your honor has thus been preserved."_

 _There was a barely-restrained laugh beneath her words, and her fingers pressed to her smile in a half-hearted attempt to conceal it. Too bad for her that her eyes sparkled with it._

 _The blonde let out a chuckle of his own, shaking his head in amusement, as he made his way to his closet, "Alright, don't go anywhere, though. I won't be long."_

 _He had quickly changed into a pair of navy, flannel pajama pants and a thin white t-shirt, before making his way back into the bedroom. Upon his return, he found Pyrrha perched atop the small bookcase that separated their beds. Her gaze was focused over the courtyard below, watching as a few couples slowly made their way back from the dance._

 _She had used the time to change out of her red evening gown and into her standard sleep clothes - black camisole top and cherry-colored cotton shorts. One leg was tucked beneath her, while the other dangled lazily over the edge, her bare foot softly brushing the carpet with slow sweeps of her slender ankle. She had removed her ponytail, plaiting her hair into a thick braid that hung over her left shoulder, tickling the top of a pale knee as she leaned against the window frame. Her emerald eyes slowly turned to rest on him as he took his own spot on the bed just beside her._

 _Jaune would wager that even a blind person would find her beautiful in that moment._

 _The relaxed curve of her shoulders sloped up to a long, ivory throat, and the lack of tension in her jaw gave her an appearance of calm. Jaune couldn't remember the last time he had seen her this at ease, this relaxed. The thought made his chest constrict in a manner which was both pleasant and nerve-wracking at once. Still, he could not look away, his blue eyes meeting her dark green orbs in the dim, amber glow of the desk lamp._

" _I have a three-year-old sister, as well."_

 _Her voice startled him slightly, but not enough to break the spell she had unknowingly cast over him, "Really?"_

 _She nodded almost imperceptibly, head leaning back to rest against the windowpane, as she continued, "Her name is Pax. She was born a few short months after my father passed."_

 _Jaune intrinsically knew he should say something here - something to acknowledge the gravity of this moment. However, his vocal cords locked up as Pyrrha raised a hand to trace slender, pale fingers over a crack in the glass, her eyes clouding-over with an emotion he couldn't quite name._

" _She's always been a quiet child, overflowing with affection, and extremely intuitive when it comes to others. For a three-year-old, it's quite remarkable how she can interpret a person's mood and react so appropriately. That's an enviable trait…"_

 _Her fingers straightened, palm flattening against the pane, leaving a foggy hand print behind as she removed it, "My brother isn't like that at all."_

 _Jaune blinked at the confession, pulling his knees up to sit tailor-style on his mattress, before addressing her softly, "Your brother?"_

 _That odd smile from before tugged at the corners of her lips, eyes blinking slowly as she turned her head to face him, "Yes, I have a, well, slightly younger brother."_

 _The blonde's brow furrowed over his sapphire eyes at her word-choice, "Slightly younger?"_

 _It was then that Pyrrha dipped her chin, a nervous, yet bemused laugh escaping her lips as she pulled her dangling leg up to press her knees to her chest, "You're not going to believe me when I tell you this."_

 _Jaune watched as she wrapped long, toned arms around her shins, her chin resting atop her knees as she blinked her eyes to meet his own. He quirked a brow at the shift, "Try me."_

 _With a crooked smile and mischievous eyes that he hadn't seen very often on those pale, elegant features, Pyrrha proceeded to absolutely wreck his sobriety._

" _My brother, Parys...is only twelve minutes younger than me."_

 _It took a few moments for Jaune's brain to catch up to her words, but when they did, he nearly fell off of his bed in shock. Mouth falling open and hands dropping limply into his lap, the blonde shook his head dazedly, "No way…Pyrrha, you have a_ _ **twin**_ _brother?!"_

 _ **There was no way she-**_

" _I do."_

 _It was a few moments more before Jaune could sort out his thoughts enough to form a coherent response. This was the absolute craziest happenstance he had ever run across in his entire life. This was likely the kind of stuff that astrologists and fortune-tellers called 'fate' or 'destiny'. There was no way this was just a coincidence. This was serendipity if ever it existed._

" _Okay, this just reached a whole new level of weird in my book."_

" _Weird?" A lower voice joined them in the dimly lit room, "Do we need to start knocking first before_

 _we come in?"_

 _Jaune and Pyrrha's heads both whipped toward the throaty, tired voice, just in time to see a haggard-looking Ren enter the room, accompanied by a smug-looking Nora._

" _He's kidding! I'll never remember to knock. By all means, don't mind us. Carry on!"_

* * *

Distant, shrill shrieks of laughter were what roused Jaune from his fitful slumber, the dream fading from his mind as he blinked his azure eyes open to the dimness of the medic bay. The soft, blue glow of a dust-lamp drew his eye to the small sitting area at the entrance of the room, and the sight that greeted him had him blinking in confusion.

Weiss Schnee sat cross-legged on the tiny, stiff love-seat, looking exactly as she had the night before, only this time, she was occupied with an uncharacteristic task. She held what appeared to be his black and orange hoodie, threading a needle through a tear in the fabric with nimble, practiced fingers. A silver thimble glittered from its place on her right index finger, her left hand poking the needle through another segment of frayed edges, before tugging the thread through to close the seams. Her eyes were hooded in fatigue and concentration, and she moved with rhythmic, robotic gestures.

After a few minutes more, she leaned forward, lifting the fabric toward her face, taking the thread between her teeth, and snapping it at the knot. Unthreading the needle, she tossed the excess thread into the wastebasket at her feet, replacing the needle in its holder. Shaking out the garment to observe and inspect her work, she nodded curtly, before folding it neatly in her lap.

Jaune's eyes softened at her resigned look, knowing that she must be operating on very little sleep already, and this task had likely stolen more of that precious rest-time from her. As she opened her mouth in a yawn, stretching her arms over her head to crack the tension out of her back, he ran a hand through his tangled hair and addressed her.

"You know, you didn't have to do that…"

"Ahh!" Weiss jumped in her seat, nearly tumbling to the floor, had she not retained the poise of a classically trained ballerina, "Jaune...I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

He shook his head silently, moving to sit upright, cautious of the still-healing wounds at his back and side. They didn't ache quite as badly today, so he took that as a good sign that he was on the

mend.

Weiss nodded jerkily, walking a few paces to set the stack of clothing at the foot of his bed, "Right, well, your clothes were laundered, and I just finished stitching the tears in your outwear, here."

She padded back over to the love-seat, where she began packing up her sewing kit and preparing to leave, "Ruby made sure that your weapons and armor were taken care of appropriately. They are in locker J17 near the canteen…where it seems like everyone decided to have a party this morning."

It didn't take a mind-reader to tell that Weiss was at least mildly annoyed by all the commotion. The look of tired irritation on her face was enough to clue him in. However, he also knew she wasn't really in the right mindset to start condemning anyone, so she would remain detached from it for the time being.

"I'll be with the rest of the group if you need me. Please, come down and have some breakfast, Jaune," she glanced at the clock on the walls, frowning slightly, "Or, lunch, rather...since it appears to be 1100-hours."

Her eyes softened, tone dropping to a gentler mezzo, as she pulled her knapsack over her shoulder, hands sliding into her jean pockets, "Everyone has been very worried about you, so you should at least pop in to let them know you're doing better."

Then, with a curt nod, Weiss turned over her left shoulder and exited through the automatic sliding door.

Jaune stared at the spot where she had been, wondering if the Schnee heiress had gotten any sleep at all the previous night. The girl had looked so tired, so hollow, and there had been a gauntness about her that he couldn't explain. It was if she had not eaten in days, or all of the blood had drained out of her body. The blonde didn't feel it was his place to interrogate her, probably being in a similar state himself. Swinging his legs over the right side of his bed, socked feet dangling a few inches above the floor, he ran tired fingers over his face, rubbing the lingering sleep from his eyes and measuring the amount of stubble he had acquired over the past few days.

Heaving a great sigh to himself, he shifted his weight forward, bringing himself to stand at full height, arms stretching to the sides to loosen the tense muscles in his back and shoulders. The tug of stitches at his flank gave him pause, and he dropped his hands to his sides, turning to face the other two occupants of the room.

Ren had finally passed out at Nora's bedside, his legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankle, back slanted against the uncomfortable chair, as his head lolled slightly to the side. His right hand was still laced with Nora's limp fingers, mindful of the IV line that occupied the back of her wrist, while his other arm rested across his torso in a lazy flop.

Ren had the same drawn, vacant look that Weiss possessed, and Jaune wondered if there was something he had missed in his unconsciousness. He was sure he'd have plenty of people to ask at lunch, so he tried not to focus too heavily on the mystery surrounding the situation.

With gentle hands that only minutely shook, Jaune removed the sheet from his bed, dragging it over to drape loosely over Ren's sleeping form. The dark-haired huntsman stirred only briefly at the action, before tightening his grip on his partner's hand and relaxing back into the chair.

Jaune allowed himself a tender smile at the two, ignoring the ache in his chest at their proximity. Regardless of his own failings and losses, the blonde had meant what he'd said before - he wanted them to be honest with each other. He wanted them to be happy, even though he couldn't. They had been through so much in their lives, and they deserved a silver lining at the end.

Padding across the cool floor, he drew himself to the opposite side of Nora's bed, gazing regretfully over her limp form. Raising his left hand, he stroked callused fingertips through her damp bangs, smoothing a rough palm over her forehead in a concerned gesture. The skin was still too-warm, but not nearly enough to be considered threatening. Her flesh was damp beneath his hand, and he found himself blinking away emotion at the relief that passed through him as his fingers stroked over her tender flesh.

"Hey, Nora...It's time for y'all to be honest with each other...go easy on him, though. This is a big step for him."

* * *

The same shrill laughter from earlier drew Jaune down the long hallway, a gloved hand running through damp, flaxen hair. After a quick stop to locker J17 to collect his weapon and armor, he had returned the items to his room and was now making is way toward the mess hall to grab some lunch. His stomach growled in protest of its neglect, a testament to the fact that he hadn't eaten in almost two whole days. There was still a dull ache in his back and side where the stitches tugged and pulled with each shift of his torso, but it was far more manageable than the previous pain from the initial wound.

As the cafeteria-style eatery came into view, Jaune could make out his classmates at one of the far tables near the observation window. Weiss and Ruby sat beside one another, dressed in their standard combat clothing, with Sun and Neptune goofing off across from them. Ruby appeared to be in hysterics over something that Sun had sad, and Weiss merely looked on with a soft smile upon her lips, light-blue eyes rolling in amused irritation. Jaune didn't miss the subtle looks being shot her way from the blue-haired huntsman across from her - Neptune may think he was being sneaky, but anyone could see that he was captivated by the Schnee heiress.

In the not-so-distant past, Jaune might have felt a sting of jealousy at the thought of someone like Neptune pursuing the snowy-haired huntress. However, with everything that had happened in the past few months, and the metamorphosis that Jaune's heart had undergone, he merely found himself smiling softly in understanding.

Neptune was a great guy - handsome, patient, and dependable. He might have come across as a bit of a playboy at first glance, being a shameless flirt, but Jaune had never seen him actually pursue any of those girls he sweet-talked. With Weiss he was different - he didn't flirt brazenly with her, use gaudy pickup lines, or try to schmooze her with frilly words and gestures. When the Mistrali huntsman was around Weiss, he tended to become quieter, more subdued, and allowed her to have the spotlight.

Jaune didn't have to do the simple math on that to tell that Neptune was quickly becoming smitten with the girl. She seemed to bring out a different side in him - the real side, beneath all the bravado and smarmy coquetry. Jaune felt content in that reality, knowing that Weiss would be in good hands if she decided to ultimately pursue the man.

However, Jaune also could not ignore the strangely charged tension that had been developing between Weiss and her hooded partner. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that those sidelong glances and lingering touches between the two were indicative of something more than just companionship and team-loyalty. Be that as it may, he also was not really in the position to start making assumptions about his colleagues. Until he could sort out his own feelings, he had no right to start guessing at the romantic intentions of those around him. He had been so ignorant to his own emotions for so long that he wondered if his perceptions of attraction and affection might not be a bit skewed.

Closing the distance between the entrance and the bench-style table, Jaune shoved his hands into his pockets, doing his best to hide the stiffness in his muscles. Ruby saw him first, standing from her seat with a flourish of excited energy, waving her right arm vigorously to coax him over, while Weiss tugged insistently on her left sleeve to stop making a scene.

"Jaune, you're up! How are you feeling? Are you hungry? I'll run through the line and grab you something. What do you want?"

The questions poured from her smiling lips with such a speed that Jaune could merely blink in response, "Uh…"

Weiss sighed, pulling the dark-haired huntress back into her seat, as she addressed him appropriately, "Hey, Jaune. I see you're doing better. Neptune, would you mind grabbing him some lunch from the line? It looks like he's still recovering, so it would probably be best if he took a seat."

Before Jaune could protest, the blue-haired huntsman rose from his seat, a bright smile on his face, and his trademark thumb's-up signal, "Sure thing, snow angel. What can I get for you, Jaune?"

Ruby reached over with excited hands, pulling Jaune down to sit beside her on the bench seat, careful not to jostle him too much, "Surprise him. Jaune's not picky."

As Neptune nodded, turning over his shoulder and heading to the order line, Ruby turned her attention back to Jaune and encircled his shoulders in a gentle, yet firm hug, "Oh, Jaune...we were so worried about you. When you and Nora came out of those tunnels, there was so much blood I wasn't sure what to think. Then you passed out...and they were rushing you two to the medic bay…"

Jaune reached his right arm up to wrap loosely around her waist, returning the hug with a gentle, reassuring pressure, "I know. I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm doing alright now. It's just going to take a little more time before I'm in top shape again, that's all."

Pulling away slowly, the shorter teen sat back on her seat, her face falling into a serious, almost somber, stare, "So...how's Nora? No one will tell us anything about her, really. And Ren hasn't come out of the medic bay but to shower once. He hasn't even eaten. I'm worried about them."

Nodding in understanding, Jaune rested his forearms on the edge of the metal table, eyes moving to study the stack of empty plates between the three seats beside him, "Well, she still hasn't woken up, but she is in a safe place for now. We're hoping she'll regain consciousness soon, since her vitals are stabilizing and her fever is breaking. The poison is still working its way out of her system, though, so all we can really do is wait…"

The silence thickened around the small group, seconds ticking away as they allowed the information to sink in. Sun was the one to break the quiet, shoving a few pieces of omelet around on his plate for a moment, before speaking in hushed tones, "Do they know how it happened? How she was poisoned?"

Jaune shook his head regretfully, blue eyes blinking heavily as emotion threatened to swell up behind them, "No, we won't know until Nora wakes and can provide that information."

He turned to regard the other blonde, taking in the tight look of concern on his tanned features, "Ren said it was only one puncture wound, so it couldn't have been an actual Grimm. He's thinking it might have been a weapon or trap coated in the stuff. This is all mere speculation, though. I'm learning not to be surprised by much at this point."

The monkey-faunus nodded gravely, setting his fork down to take a swig of his drink, "Well, I hope everything works out for y'all. This last couple of months have been bat-shit crazy, and we could use a little bit of good luck right about now."

He began to rise from his seat, stacking the empty plates and lifting them to balance on his left hand, "Anyway, I'm gonna cut out and go grab a shower. When Neptune gets back, let him know he can find me down in the barracks in a bit. We're gonna be landing in a few hours, and Scarlet would kill me if I came home with poor hygiene. Catch y'all later!"

Jaune watched him retreat to discard the dirty dishes onto the conveyor belt, before blinking his gaze back to the metal surface before him. He felt Ruby shift slightly at his side, finishing off the last few bites of her pancake, before washing it down with the remainder of milk from her carton.

Leaning back to coax out the last few drops, she sighed loudly, before rising from her seat, "I'm gonna grab another drink. Anyone need anything while I'm up?"

Jaune and Weiss both shook their heads, thanking the hooded huntress before she headed to the snack bar to procure another beverage. Now alone, the two classmates exchanged tired glances, the silence drawing out between them. However, it wasn't an awkward quiet, merely one of understanding. Weiss was the one to break it.

"So, how are you feeling? You look a sight better than you did when we left the compound, that's for sure. Have you gotten any real sleep?"

Jaune nodded slowly, his shoulders catching in a half-shrug in the process, "Yeah, real enough. It's still not the most restful. I just can't turn them off."

"The dreams…" it was more a statement than a question, the snowy-haired huntress setting down her glass with a habitual poise bred from years of perfect grooming, "I understand. I, myself, still battle with them occasionally from time to time.

Jaune wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that admission, his thoughts a messy jumble in his brain, still reeling from the previous night's dream, as well as the sight of Weiss acting uncharacteristically domestic upon his waking. He recalled her nimble fingers threading the needle through the hoodie he now wore, her movements patient, poised, and practiced in the task, as if she could do it in her sleep. For all he knew, she probably could.

"I didn't know you could sew…"

The words were out of his mouth before he could ponder their purpose, his eyes widening slightly at his slip, before his chin dropped toward his chest. He was about to apologize for his blase comment, when his attempt was cut-off by Weiss' quiet and nostalgic voice.

"My mother taught both my sister and I when we were little. We make all of our own combat clothing...it ensures that everything fits perfectly and every inch of fabric serves a purpose. My mother always hated waste..."

Jaune's tongue stuck in his drying mouth, wondering if maybe he had pried a little too deeply into dark and dangerous territory. He prepared his throat, planning to apologize for his indiscretion, but Weiss beat him to it.

"Jaune, it's alright," she muttered gently, smoothing her pale hands over the lap of her skirt, "You couldn't have known. Besides, I don't mind talking about her...I mean, I was the one who brought her up the other night, wasn't I?"

 _Brought her up the other night…?_

When clarity settled across Jaune's befuddled mind, it struck with a force that nearly knocked the breath from his lungs and caused him to lean forward slightly in his seat at the pressure. Rubbing a gloved hand over his knees beneath the table to busy them against the nervous energy coursing through him, Jaune found himself at another loss for words. Feeling his brows tug down in a troubled frown, he ducked his head in remorse.

"So, the the woman you were talking about, when you said you understood how I felt...that was your mother?"

Weiss nodded slowly beside him, her hands fisting tightly in her lap beneath the table, as she closed her eyes at the memory, "My sister and I had the esteemed privilege of watching our mother take her last breath, because our father was too busy to pay her a final visit."

Jaune's heart ached at the picture that confession painted, and he couldn't help but see Weiss in a different light than before. Where he had always thought she was merely a classically-talented, vocally-gifted, intelligent beauty...Weiss was actually a strong, yet wounded, and slightly embittered survivor. If this was something her own father had allowed her to be subjected to, Jaune couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors she - and her sister, for that matter - had endured in their youth.

Their moment was interrupted as both Ruby and Neptune returned simultaneously, the latter presenting a tray before him, filled with eggs, bacon, waffles, and hash-browns, complete with a large carton of orange juice to drink. Ruby was nursing a fresh carton of chocolate milk. Neither seemed to miss the heaviness of the energy surrounding the pair, and seemed to be pondering how to break it.

However, Weiss, as usual, seemed to be on top of things. Rising from her seat, she cleared her plates into a small stack, before climbing out of the bench seat, "I'm going to head over to the cockpit and have a word with my sister. I'll see you all in a bit."

And with that, she turned over her shoulder and disappeared into the thinning crowd, the soft clicks of her wedge-style boots fading away with each step.

Ruby didn't waste a second before diving past the residual tension and addressing the situation, "So...everything okay between you two."

Jaune sighed at the question, feeling the turquoise and silver eyes glancing furtively in his direction, "Yeah, we're fine. Just heavy conversation...seems to be a trend lately."

Neptune took a swig of his root beer, "Tell me about it...it's been a rough few days, man. I can't even imagine what you all have been going through."

Ruby nodded gravely, her silver eyes blinking slowly as she shook her head, "Especially for Weiss and Ren...I mean, they've been in and out of the medic bay for you and Nora every four hours or so. Not really great for getting good sleep."

Jaune's ears perked up at the information, fork pausing in it's slow shuffle about his plate, "What do you mean? Every four hours? Why?"

Ruby and Neptune shared a dark, concerned look, before the hooded huntress spoke in hushed tones, "Well, they were your and Nora's blood donors. The two of you lost a lot of blood and needed emergency transfusions. Ren is the same blood type as Nora, and Weiss has O-, so she can donate to anyone."

Jaune's eyes widened at the implication, feeling a renewed sense of indebtedness to the snowy-haired Schnee heiress. Not only had she mended his clothes, had a heart-to-heart with him where she revealed a dark secret of her past, but she also had gifted him her own blood when he'd needed it most. This wasn't something that just anyone did.

"Jaune, don't overthink this, man. Any one of us would have done this for you, and I'm sure you would have done the same for us, am I right?"

Jaune blinked his eyes upward to meet Neptune's oceanic gaze, the Mistrali huntsman's words reaching him on an instinctual level. There was an undeniable truth in those words that had Jaune reeling. He nodded wordlessly in response, and Ruby and Neptune seemed to understand with only that as an answer. They sat in silence for a bit, Jaune making slow, halfhearted progress on his lunch.

Just as he was about to give up and push his tray aside, there was a slam and crash at the front of the cafeteria, his sapphire eyes slicing up toward the chaos.

His brows rose, Ruby standing hurriedly beside him as a breathless, pink-cheeked Weiss came into view, shoving through the nondescript bodies of soldiers, as she gestured wildly to the trio.

Jaune began to slowly rise from his seat, confused and slightly worried at what the Schnee heiress might be panicking over. He was prepared to ask, when the snowy-haired huntress skidded to a stop before them, holding up a hand to ward off any unnecessary questions as she paused to catch her breath.

"Jaune...you need to come with me."

His brows rose in surprise, before dropping into a tight frown of confusion, "Weiss, what…"

She held up her hand again, flushed face canting up to meet his stare, ice-blue eyes flashing wide with intensity, as she panted out her news.

"Jaune...it's Nora."

Panic sliced through him as the name of his teammate fell from her breathless lips, and he leapt out of the bench seat prepared to sprint down the hallway to the medic bay, his fatigue and healing wound be damned.

 _Did something happen? Did she suddenly taken a turn for the worst? Hadn't she been recovering? Why didn't-_

"She's waking up!"

 _Oh…_

* * *

Tearing down the hallway, his stitches pulling at his flank with every strain and stride, Jaune lifted a hand to support the still-healing flesh as he booked-it down the corridor toward the medic bay. He knew he was probably being rash and reckless with his health - Weiss and Ruby's calls from behind him were proof of that fact, but he honestly couldn't be concerned with that at the present. His teammate was waking up, and he wasn't about to stand around chatting idly while they interrogated her without him present.

Making it to the automatic door, he didn't even wait for it to open completely, before sliding through the small space and squeezing his way into the now brightly-lit room.

The scene before him stole his breath, his lungs seizing as emotion burned behind his eyes. Nora no longer wore the oxygen mask, and her bed had been angled up to a reclining position. Ren sat beside her, cradling her left hand in both of his larger palms, and he seemed to be muttering something quietly to her below Jaune's range of hearing.

The dark circles beneath Nora's eyes gave her the appearance of a wraith, pale skin sallow and clammy, but her blue-green eyes shined with an awareness he hadn't seen in days. Noticing Jaune's presence, she turned a soft, weak smile his direction, nodding in acknowledgement, before bracing herself on her right hand to pull herself to a full sitting position.

Ren fussed over her for a moment, worried that she might cause herself undue stress. She waved him off, but allowed him to keep a firm grip on her left hand. A strong palm found its way to her back, assisting her in her task, and bringing her to an upright, yet slightly hunched position, cautious of the various IV lines and monitoring wires still attached to her arms and torso.

Jaune's feet moved before his brain, and he was at the right side of her bed before he could breathe a complete lungful of air. His hands hovered in the air for a moment, as if trying to process the fact that she was now conscious and alert. Her hazy eyes met his, and that soft smile shifted into a tight frown of regret, eyes gleaming with moisture.

"Jaune...I'm so sorry...I don't know why I said some of the things I did in the tunnels...I-"

The blonde interrupted her stammering rambles by leaning forward, taking a sideways seat on the mattress beside her, and wrapping her up in a warm, secure embrace. Pressing her face into his right shoulder, he felt the first of many hot tears fall against his throat, her right hand fisting in the black fabric at his chest. Her body shook with barely restrained sobs, and Jaune ran a comforting hand through her tangled, cinnamon hair, doing his best to soothe the pain and regret she leaked from every pore of her still-broken body.

Her grip visibly tightened on her partners hand, and Ren reached an arm around her waist, wrapping a secure and consoling grip about the small of her back. He leaned forward, resting his pale forehead against her trembling left shoulder. Jaune could make out the tight shatter of the dark-haired huntsman's breath against the sterile sleeve of her white smock.

Jaune's voice found him on the first wave of his own emotional release, and he swallowed around thick, tear-coated words, "It doesn't matter now. I was never going to leave you, no matter what you said…"

A fractured, fragmented sob splintered free from Nora's lips along the curve of his throat, her body tensing against his own in a spasm of anguish, and he lowered his gloved hand to massage at her nape. Beside them, Ren's shoulders trembled slightly, his own shattered breath betraying his nearly-silent tears, and Jaune guided his right hand to squeeze the dark-haired huntsman's shoulder in a firm, reassuring grip. He wasn't sure how long they sat like this, tangled up in one another, and breathing each other's shivering air, but a choked noise from behind him finally drew his attention back to the present.

Slowly turning his gaze over his right shoulder, Jaune peered toward the entrance to the room, and his azure eyes widened on the sight that greeted him.

Ruby Rose stood just inside of the doorway, her slender arms wrapped securely around the shoulders of her snowy-haired partner. She whispered gentle, nonsensical words against the other's left temple, gently rocking the slightly taller girl in her grip.

Meanwhile, Weiss Schnee was falling apart, quiet, strangled whimpers escaping her clenched teeth, as thick, briny torrents of tears cascaded down her flawless porcelain cheeks. Her breath hitched with every tightly reined-in convulsion of emotion, her chin resting firmly against the crimson wool covering her partner's narrow shoulder.

Jaune could only imagine what was going through her mind at that moment to have torn this level of sorrow from the normally composed Schnee. But one weighty look from Ruby's haunted silver eyes told the entire story.

Weiss missed her teammates. Seeing the remains of Team JNPR locked together in a fixed, desperate embrace had knifed a gaping hole in the fair-haired huntress' resolve and brought back a flood of wonderful memories - ones she wasn't quite ready to let go of. She would probably move mountains to bring her friends back together - to have Yang and Blake with them again just like old times. Her year at Beacon had changed Weiss, and she had grown to show a vulnerable, nurturing, and private side of herself that she had never been able to in the past. Now that half of her team was gone, scattered over kingdoms, she feared she would never be able to experience that degree of love and friendship ever again.

But she was wrong. She still had Ruby Rose, the dark-haired huntress who was currently holding onto her with a fierce protectiveness and growing intimacy at a level that Jaune had only ever seen in a pair who had been by each other's sides for decades. Jaune, again, did not want to make any assumptions about the younger huntress, but if he had been a betting man, he might have wagered that Ruby saw her partner as more than just a friend and comrade. If Weiss decided not to pursue a future with Neptune, then she might just find a surprisingly devoted heart a little closer than she would have ever imagined. The unconditional love reflected in Ruby's eyes made Jaune's heart smile, even through the blurring of tears and sounds of gasped and broken breath.

Feeling that Weiss was in good and capable hands, Jaune turned back to his own teammates. He pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to the crown of Nora's head, dragging his right arm around Ren's shoulders to pull him fully against them into a crushing embrace.

"You're part of my family, guys. I'd never leave either of you to die...even if it meant going down with you. No one else in this family gets left behind."

Matching sobs broke against Jaune's chest, and he could feel his own emotions pressing up against his throat, threatening to burst forth on a scream. But, then another noise distracted him again.

The sound of the automatic door whirred open once more, and a startled gasp pulled his eyes back to the entrance, "What on Remnant is going on in here?"

The tired form of Winter Schnee uncrossed her arms from behind her back, quickly closing the distance between herself and the sobbing shell of her sister. Weiss had melted to the floor, Ruby's strong arms never faltering in their supportive grip, as the snowy-haired Schnee buried her face in that warm shoulder. Her sister knelt beside her, pulling the mourning girl from her partner's embrace. Gloved hands at Weiss' narrow shoulders, Winter squared her with a look of deep concern, attempting to catch her eyes. When this tactic didn't work, she brought her right hand up to cup her baby sister's pale chin, drawing her face inches from those damp eyes.

"Weiss, snowflake, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Weiss shook her head jerkily, before throwing her arms around her sister's slender waist, Winter's arms hesitating for only a moment, before folding gently over shaking shoulders in a secure embrace.

"I miss t-them so m-much...I thought I'd g-gotten past this pain...I t-thought I could push it away...but it h-hurts so much!"

Her words were a jumbled mess of broken syllables, but Winter seemed to understand their meaning, stroking a gloved hand over Weiss' snowy crown, before pressing a soft kiss to her temple, "Weiss, it's going to be alright. You'll see them again. I promise. I will make it happen for you."

There was a moment of thick silence, Ruby's hand running soothing circles over Weiss' hunched back as Winter muttered soft words of reassurance in her ear. A few minutes later, the youngest Schnee seemed to come to her senses, gaining a tentative hold on her emotions, as she extricated herself from the supportive arms and stood from her place on the cold tiles. She wiped slender, shaking fingers over cheeks, trying to ebb the flow of tears, but they just seemed to keep on falling.

Winter stood before her, taking her face between gloved hands, rubbing her thumbs over the tear-tracks to smear them away, "You'll be alright, Weiss. You're a strong young woman. I'm very proud of you, and I hope you can see that. Now, take a deep breath and calm down. We have much to discuss and very little time in which to do it."


	8. Our Solemn Hour

**Chapter Title: Our Solemn Hour**

The debriefing turned out to be more of a lecture, Winter spending the next half hour going over plans for the final phase of their mission. They would be entering into Mistrali airspace within the next few hours, and she wanted them to be sufficiently prepared for what they might encounter once on the ground. As it turned out - much like Atlas - Mistral was all but untouched by the chaos breaking out on the other side of the world, so they wouldn't need to cloak themselves in obscurity while they were there.

Once the military specialist had concluded her lecture, her attention had turned toward the newly-risen redhead seated on the bed. Obtaining her side of the story had been a lengthy scenario, as Nora tended to embellish quite a bit. Once they had sifted through the extraneous details of how she had 'exterminated a hundred rabid Ursai' and 'saved a nest of baby gerbils', they were able to determine that the reason for her wounds was a simple miscalculation of trajectory.

At one leg in her journey to the rendezvous point, Nora had reached a sizable gap in the ventilation shaft. She had been left with few options for how to cross it, and had settled for utilizing a burst of electrical energy to launch herself across the gap. She had been successful, only to realize that the other side of the chasm was edged with thin, metal spikes. She had managed to successfully avoid all but one of them.

Nora had discovered fairly quickly that they were laced with King Taijitu venom when the acrid, ammonia-like scent had reached her nose upon further inspection. She hadn't informed Jaune because she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily, believing that she had more time than she actually did. It hadn't been the first time she'd been poisoned with this type of venom. However, due to her already waning aura levels, the blunt-force trauma that had dislocated her hip, and the laceration of her thigh, she did not have the desired amount of healing aura leftover to adequately counteract the toxin before it hit her bloodstream. She had realized her mistake too late to take any further action.

As far as Nora's recovery was concerned, now that she was awake, she would be able to consciously assist her aura along in the mending process. Merely an hour later she was up, walking around, and completing her basic routines. Weiss assisted her in showering and dressing in her repaired uniform, and Ruby retrieved Magnhild from her locker. It would be a good week or two before she was fit to engage in combat, but for now she could at least assist with the less physical of duties for the group.

Their gang had set about packing up their few belongings and preparing for the imminent docking in Mistral's Capital city of Haven. The popping of Jaune's ears was a clear indicator that they had already begun their descent, so he quickly zipped up his knapsack, slinging it over his shoulder, carefully avoiding his still tender wound. Making his way to the main hallway, he was met by Ruby, Weiss, Neptune, and Sun, all prepared to exit the aircraft upon arrival - Nora and Ren were a few steps behind him.

As he joined them at the airlock, the ship jolting to a halt on the docks, his eyes scanned them over one last time before the hiss and pop of the door released and a blast of warm air bathed his form in an imagined spring breeze.

* * *

Mistral was unlike any other place he had ever seen.

Jaune had believed that Atlas would be the end all to be all of surprises, but Mistral's capital city of Haven blew that theory out of the water.

Multicolored layers of countless buildings soared over a sea-drowned caldera, resting nestled in the middle of a dark, indigo sea. Smaller islands could be spotted off the coast, fragmented and staggered on the sea line in the distance. White-washed, cube-style houses built nearly on top of one another clustered like white grapes up the side of the cliffs, their smooth-edge corners delicately carved seemingly from the air itself. The domed roofs and vibrant doors of the structures were painted in dominant shades of azure, scarlet, lemon, and fuchsia - celadon-glazed pottery standing in stark contrast to the pristine walls by which they were perched.

The village below was a maze of small shops, restaurants, and businesses, the remnants of a humble culture that had sprung from a sleepy little town to a thriving hub of tourism and trade. It was now a bustling port-town, hundreds of people milling about like ants beneath a blazing sun.

The icy chill from Atlas was all but forgotten once the first rays of solar warmth caressed Jaune's cheeks as he shuffled down the ramp and onto the rocky, chalky soil of Mistral. They had arrived nearly at sunset, the reflection of the descending star glowing on the buildings in a watercolor smear of orange and red.

Sun and Neptune walked ahead, tailed closely by gawking, wide-eyed Ruby and Nora, Ren following closely with a hand at the redhead's back for support, as she was still on the mend.

Jaune hung back briefly, soaking up the warmth and breathing in the brackish air that tickled his nose. Unlike the docks in Vale which smelled of old fish and crude oil, Mistral's air was pungent with the scents of salt, coconuts, and assorted spices. He had never experienced anywhere as beautiful as this, and part of him felt his heart twitch behind his ribs. It reminded him a bit of his family farm back in Signal...only bigger and brighter and busier. If this is where Pyrrha had been born and raised, what had ever possessed her to leave it all behind for stuffy, urban Vale?

Scanning his eyes over the city once more, he could see his late partner in many aspects of its sprawling acreage. The vibrancy of color, the warmth of the salty breeze, the inner calm it settled over his tired soul, and the smooth, clean edges of the architecture - pristine in their composition, yet so culturally unique.

From what Winter had told them of Mistrali culture, the kingdom was comprised of a government system similar to Vale's, in that they had a Council of Elders, a small military presence, and a major Huntsman Academy. However, the dynamic of those civic layers was balanced very differently from the other kingdoms. Mistral, while operating on the same level of prominence as its sister-countries, seemed to focus their energy upon peaceful interactions, rather than strengthening their armed forces.

The culture in the port-city of Haven could be described as a vibrant, welcoming, and avante-garde trade town - steeped in artistic, hospitable, and borderline pacifistic tradition. Emphasis was placed on education, artistic-expression, and entertainment, and Mistral had its fair share of festivals and holidays - always making an excuse to celebrate life, peace, and harmony among human and faunus alike.

Be that as it may, they still had a premiere huntsman academy, as well as a basic combat school just on the outskirts of town, and held a regional tournament yearly in order to promote amicable relations with the huntsmen from neighboring kingdoms. However, huntsmen and those in training to become warriors only made up about 12% of the population - a startling contrast to Atlas where armed forces were a clear majority.

But the tidbit of information that had truly surprised Jaune the most was that Grimm attacks in the kingdom were lower than anywhere else on record. Many believed that it was due to the positive energy and constant presence of merriment and warmth surrounding the kingdom. Grimm fed off of negative energy and emotion, so it seemed the best way to ward them off was to extinguish that potential catalyst. This could explain why the huntsman population was able to be maintained at such a low threshold. Jaune believed there was a lesson to be learned from the success of this culture, and wondered if maybe the natives were onto something here.

As their small party made its way down the pebbly, ashen footpath toward the main thoroughfare, leaving the airship in their wake and the sunset at their backs, the scent of freshly prepared baked goods brushed over Jaune's senses. The calls of traveling peddlers and shop vendors alike echoed through the congested streets, beckoning to them as they followed Sun and Neptune toward the residential district. The duo had stated that they resided in a two-bedroom apartment near Haven Academy, which wasn't more than a few miles down the road. It would take them around an hour to reach it, and Neptune had assured them that there was a nice, affordable inn just across the street from it.

So, with a lighter heart and a growling stomach, Jaune fell into step beside his teammates as they plunged into the milling throngs of patrons en route to their destination.

They reached their journey's end within the hour, the crowds having thinned when they had passed through the restaurant district and entered into the academy sector. Jaune's feet were aching slightly from the uneven terrain, and there was a light sheen of sweat from the warm, evening temperatures, irritating the itchy edges of his lightly bandaged wound. The breeze had died down when they had traveled farther inland, no longer able to rely on the wind from the coastline as a means of cooling themselves.

The inn was aptly named _'Serenity Hollow'_ , and was located no more than a stone's throw from Team SSSN's apartment, and consequently, Haven Academy.

The school loomed in the background, giant fences curved around the campus in an eerie, metallic embrace. It wasn't as colossal as Beacon Academy had been, but it was no less intimidating upon which to gaze. Carved into the same, dome-shaped buildings as most of the other structures in Haven, dwarfing the surrounding establishments by their towering, red and white sandstone walls, it rose several dozen meters skyward.

As they passed through the ivy-covered tunnel leading to the inn and into its manicured grounds, they were able to leave the noise, and dusty, busy were promptly enveloped into the tranquility and beauty of green gardens and lush, flowering trees, the imposing shadow of the Academy looming at its backdrop.

At first sight, chills came upon Jaune, as its solemn beauty and formidable proportions took his breath away. There were literally no words to describe the vision before him; he had simply been transported to another world entirely - the kind he'd read about in storybooks as a child.

Just down the road the chants of evening vespers could be heard from a nearby monastery, giving the inn's courtyard an ethereal atmosphere. The air smelled of honeysuckle and ripe figs, the sun sinking low on the horizon and bathing the plaza in soft, lavender shades and deepening shadows as night began to fall.

Ruby had pulled ahead of the group, pressing on to procure their room keys and officially check the group into the facilities. Jaune hung back with the rest of them, watching as Ren guided a slightly limping Nora to rest on a quaint, stone bench carved from the western wall of the inn itself. She needed to rest, as they had done a bit more walking than planned, and she was doubtlessly fatigued, which would only slow her healing.

Jaune moved to take the seat beside her, nodding to Ren for a moment of privacy, before glancing at the redhead from the corner of his right eye. He noted the light sheen of sweat coating her pale flesh and the mild tremor in her tired limbs. She braced her palms on the edge of the bench-seat, leaning forward to hunch her shoulders in such a way that stretched her lithe back to send a rapid-fire succession of cracks through her vertebrae. She sighed in relief, turning her chin toward the heavens to gaze upon the clear, dimming sky where constellations began to form against the silken, indigo backdrop.

"You know, Ren and I used to stargaze all the time as kids."

Her soft, wistful voice reached him, as he watched her lean back against the rusty-colored stone of the bench, and Jaune blinked in surprise at the confession.

"Oh, really?"

She nodded, a bright smile peeling across her face to set a sparkle in her blue-green eyes, "Yup, when we were at Signal Academy, we used to sneak up to the rooftop of the dorm and lay there for hours - sometimes until sunrise if we lost track of time."

Jaune felt his own lips curve slightly at the image her words painted, watching as her shoulders relaxed against the stone. Her hands folded to rest against her pale thighs, fingertips mindlessly toying with the ragged edge of the bandages peeking out from beneath her combat skirt.

"We even managed to sneak away to indulge a few times at Beacon - when one of us would get stressed-out or sad over something. It was sort of like a mental reset. It helped us re-calibrate...I miss those times."

Jaune frowned slightly at the despondency in her voice, observing as her eyes followed her partner's pace beneath the heavily ripe fig trees. Nora's doleful gaze moved to trace the path of Ren's long, slender fingers as they brushed over the trunk of the nearest tree, leaning a fraction of his weight against it in a weary slant of his lithe body. Her brow twitched with anxiety, the previous shimmer dimming in her eyes to a faint glow.

The blonde sighed deeply, nudging her left shoulder with his own to knock her from her stupor, "Hey, don't fret. Why don't you just talk to him about it? Ask him to take you stargazing while we're here - I saw a few spots on the way that would probably be pretty good for it."

A gentle chuckle dropped from her lips, that soft smile tugging at the corners once more, as her gaze shifted into something softer...something that seemed to bleed affection and longing that she had been holding back and stamping down for far too long. When the words finally joined that telling expression, Jaune felt his chest swell with an emotion he couldn't quite name.

"I think what he'll need is something a bit more...well, direct. I do think I'll talk to him tonight, but it won't be about stargazing. And, Jaune?"

His brows rose at the address, eyes locking onto hers, as he recognized the crooked grin forming at the corner of her lips, "Hmm?"

That smile parted her lips to reveal a flash of straight teeth, and he was reminded of the expression which decorated her face during their team battle in the Vytal Festival Tournament - the one that had smeared across her face just before she had smashed her war-hammer into the four members of Team BRNZ and batted them out of the arena. It was an expression of imminent victory and the thrill of the hunt.

"Thanks for your previous advice, but...no, I won't go easy on him. Not this time."

* * *

Jaune was still reeling slightly from Nora's determined words as he prepared for bed that night. The guestroom he was sharing with his two teammates was small, but comfortable, providing all the accommodations they could need for an extended, indefinite stay. They would need to make a trip to the market the next day, to purchase food and supplies. He and Nora also needed some new clothing items, as theirs were basically ruined from the previous battle, and the patch-jobs Weiss had done would only last so long. Other than that, however, they were set for the foreseeable future.

Pulling a clean, cobalt t-shirt over his damp head, the blonde crossed the room to the large, bay window. Taking a seat on the rich, burgundy cushions atop the ledge, he worked the latch on the swinging window to push it open, allowing the warm night air to seep into the faintly lit chamber. A small oil lantern burned on the modest writing desk to his left, shadows dancing across his skin as he leaned back against the white, stone wall. Pulling a knee to his chest, he gazed out over the small courtyard below, the 2nd story vantage point granting him the perfect spot to soak in the sights and sounds of the nightlife about the tiny inn.

He was lulled into a state of relaxation by the gentle chirps of cicadas and bell crickets, the breeze gentle as it swept across his pale cheeks. The glittering, golden dust lamps scattered throughout the plaza below lit the area in a shimmery haze, and that was when Jaune noticed the a figure ambling about the cobblestone paths through the fig grove. Allowing his eyes to adjust briefly, he made out the person to be none other than his redheaded teammate. He had been wondering where she had run off to...

Leaning forward from his reclined position, he strained his eyes and ears, making out the gentle cadence of a song she wordlessly hummed beneath her breath, the acoustics and illumination of the courtyard perfect for such a task.

Nora had changed into a pair of black sleep shorts, the stark white of her bandages standing out against the curve of her toned thigh. Her pink camisole was mostly concealed by a thinly-woven grey shawl she had wrapped about her shoulders, and her hair was secured at her nape with a simple black ribbon, though her cinnamon bangs still framed the narrow planes of her face. She appeared to have recovered from her earlier limp after resting for a few hours, her bare feet brushing softly over the smooth surface of the stone path. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her blue-green eyes were wide as she gazed up at the brightest stars Jaune had ever seen.

With the skies so clear in Mistral, there was nothing to obstruct the celestial view, and it was breathtaking.

So breathtaking that he almost missed the presence of his other teammate as he quietly approached the meandering redhead.

Ren was just returning from Team SSSN's residence, having spent the last few hours mapping out the lay of the land. He would be operating as their navigator when the local huntsmen were not available for assistance, as his eidetic memory made him the best candidate for the job.

The dark-haired huntsman closed the distance between himself and his partner, making his way to her side, "The stars are beautiful here. I've never seen them this bright."

There was a moment of brief silence in which Nora merely nodded absently in response, before Ren's eyes turned to gaze upon her, "Are you feeling alright? How's your leg?"

Nora slowed her stroll, slipping her left arm around his narrow waist, as she laid her head against the soft swell of his bicep, "Ren, I'm fine. Just a little distracted."

Jaune could see the light dance off Ren's quirked brow as his arm hooked around her narrow shoulders, pulling her against his side in a half-embrace,

"Distracted? You? I can't imagine…"

The flimsy sarcasm in his voice drew a soft chuckle from his partner, her eyes sliding shut as she burrowed her face into his shoulder, appearing to breathe a thick sigh against the dark, jade fabric of his tailcoat. Their stroll drew then within clear earshot of Jaune's shameless eavesdropping, as they took a seat on the same bench he and Nora had sat upon earlier that evening.

"Ren, there's something I need to tell you. I've danced around it long enough, and we're out of time."

The dark-haired huntsman's brow furrowed above his pastel eyes, his head tilting as he reached over to cover one of her hands with his own, "Nora?"

She took a deep breath, shoulders dropping slightly, as turned to face him, her words firing off at a mile a minute, Jaune blinking to keep up.

"I love you. Not just like a sister or a friend, like, I really love you. Like, that 'together, together' kind of love we always joke about. If you don't feel the same way, that's okay, though...I've made it this long without it, I think I can make it forever. I just needed to tell you, because I don't want to lose my chance. I don't want to wake up one morning with you gone and feel that pain of never telling you how I really felt. I don't know when it happened, it just did. One day, things just started to feel different. I don't know why, or how, or exactly when...I just know that, now, I can't just think of you as that little boy who found me in that burning building when we were eight-years-old. Sometimes I look at you and my heart just starts racing, my mind goes in circles, and I get all shaky inside. I don't know if that's what love is, but I don't feel this way about anyone else and-"

Suddenly, Ren's long fingers threaded through her cinnamon hair, tilting her head back, lips pressing down to brush against hers in a slow, soft caress that cut off her stream-of-consciousness babble.

Her blue-green eyes flew wide in shock for a moment, before sliding shut, her trembling fingers moving to lock around the bracers encasing his slender wrists.

Jaune heard the redhead's breath fray slightly; so softly that he almost missed it. A subtle tilt of their heads and their mouths slanted together, brushing smoothly. It was a fleeting sweep that led to a mutual parting of lips, but neither moved to deepen it. They merely paused there, sharing breath for a long moment, mouths hovering in a suspended embrace.

The dark-haired huntsman drew back just so, their noses bumping and their gazes leveled through the low sweep of their lashes. Then he leaned in once more into a gentle press of lips; a sudden, sweeping touch as fleeting and soft as if he had simply breathed across her lips.

Despite the twisting ache behind his ribs, Jaune smiled softly to himself from the window above, punching down the rising pain in his gut to clutch tightly to the delight he felt for his teammates. They deserved this more than anyone else he knew, and it was an honor to bear witness to this pivotal transition in their relationship.

 _Finally...it's about time, you two._

Turning away from the scene to grant the pair some privacy, he padded over to his bed, tugging the duvet back, before sliding against the cool, white sheets. Turning onto his right side, he ignored the irritating tug of his dissolving stitches, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

Tomorrow would bring yet another new day, another chance to move forward in their search for answers. He had a job to do, as his next task was to locate and inform Pyrrha's family of her passing. It was a messy assignment, but it had to be done, and there was no one else on the planet more suited to the task. It would be his final duty as her partner, and he had to see it through to the end.

Snuggling his cheek into the softness of the pillow, Jaune knew that he would need to be strong for this endeavor. This responsibility was one that brought with it the risk of confronting all of the facts he had so carefully evaded over the passing weeks. He would have to take Ruby with him, as she was the only one with that information, and then he would no longer be able to avoid this conversation.

However, he had to admit that, after all was revealed and there was no longer a shadow of denial beneath which to hide, just maybe, he might be able to let go of just the smallest fraction of his grief.

 _Maybe it's time…_

* * *

" _There's no time."_

 _Her regret-filled eyes fell to the cobblestones below, an enormous weight seeming to appear upon her pale, trembling shoulders, as her gloved hands fisted at her sides. Her scarlet ponytail swayed at her waist as she shook her head, her face morphing into a rigid frown, crimson brows drawing down and verdant eyes blazing with something Jaune couldn't quite name, but instantly knew he didn't like._

" _Go," her left hand gestured toward the docks where airships could be seen evacuating the remaining students from the Grimm-infested campus, "Get to Vale and call for help."_

 _Jaune's flaxen brows shot toward his hairline in confusion, as he turned to level disbelieving eyes upon his partner. His scroll froze, forgotten in paralyzed fingertips as he struggled to process her words, "Huh? What are_ _ **you**_ _gonna do?"_

 _Pyrrha slowly turned her head, staring with frightening determination toward the top of Beacon Tower. Hesitantly following her gaze, Jaune felt a wave of icy fear cascade down his spine in horrifying realization of what she was planning to do. Shoving his scroll back into his hip-pack, his azure eyes widened, head shaking jerkily as he began to gesture wildly, a desperation creeping up within his disbelieving tenor._

" _No...no, Pyrrha, you can't. You saw how powerful she is!"_

 _He watched as her green eyes slid shut, an expression of distraught indecision passing over her pristine features in the ethereal moonlight. His chest clenched in fear and distress, his words edging on the far side of panicked as he pleaded with her._

" _Pyrrha, I won't let you do this-"_

 _Suddenly, his face was grasped within the worn leather of her gloved palms, and her lips were on his, silencing his protest with frustration and despair. His mind reeled, her sharp scent of eucalyptus and mint assaulting his senses as her soft mouth crashed over his own, stealing his breath and clenching his heart. Those leather-clad fingers trembled against his cheeks as they clutched him tightly._

 _He hesitated only a moment before his hands moved on their own, one twisting to grasp her left hip, the other sliding to press at her waist, brushing callused fingertips over the thin strip of pale flesh exposed at her lower back._

 _He could feel her shudder at the touch, flesh rippling at the contact, as her breath shattered against his lips. It was astonishing and completely unanticipated. As soon as their lips had touched a fire had ignited between them and Jaune couldn't keep his mind in check, his chest feeling suddenly heavy with unsung emotion and long-realized feelings. His lips were captured, his breath stolen, and all he could do was close his eyes and get lost in the sensation._

 _She tasted of green tea and tears; bittersweet and soft like velvet on his tongue. A tiny whimper escaped her throat, fracturing against his breathless lips, and the sound of it sent a shudder through his entire body, his grip tightening at her waist and tugging her fully against him. His heart fluttered again in his chest, the ground falling out from under his feet as he realized that he was being kissed to within an inch of his life._

 _But then it was over all too soon, Pyrrha breathing heavily against his skin, foreheads brushing as he felt her right hand drag over his throat to rest against his chest-plate. He had to use every ounce of his willpower not to pull her back into him to kiss her again._

 _Her eyes found his, emerald orbs shimmering with unshed tears, as her hand at his face stroked a thumb reverently over his cheekbone. She was shaking, and Jaune could feel it and see it in the ragged breaths she took to calm her storm._

 _She clenched her jaw, a single tear rolling from her left eye down a pale cheek, her face contorting slightly with an agonized expression of grief and confliction, as her voice broke on her next words - words he had grown to despise._

" _I'm sorry…"_

 _Before he could respond to the unnecessary apology, he felt that familiar pull of magnetic energy upon his armor, eyes flying wide with confusion and his heart shredding down the middle as he realized what was happening. Unfortunately, he was powerless to stop it, his back smashing into the cold metal of the weapon's locker across the path, the door slamming shut before him from the impact. Words fell from his lips like acid as he pleaded and begged, all composure flying out the window in his panic._

" _Hey! Wait! Stop, stop!"_

 _As his words filled the small space of the chamber, echoing off the muffling walls, Pyrrha approached at a slow, hesitant pace, as if second guessing herself. Her hand reached out, the familiar beeps of the keypad sounding as she typed in a set of coordinates, his fear spiking._

" _Pyrrha, please don't do this!"_

 _His fingers shoved through the bottom slots, trying to tear the door open before it could launch him away, but he suddenly froze as she looked up to meet his eyes one last time._

 _Tears blurred his vision as he stared into those verdant eyes, so full of sorrow and regret. Her cheeks were painted with her own silent tears, and her bottom lip was snagged between her teeth as she fought not to break down in their final moments. Then, as she stepped back, he felt the vibrations of the locker as it prepared for lift-off._

 _With a final plea, he watched her close her eyes, then all he felt was the pressure of a vacuum and all he heard was the roar of the rockets beneath his feet as he was jettisoned away, knowing instinctively that he would never see her alive again._

* * *

Jaune's teammates were still asleep when he slipped on his shoes at 0800 hours. They were curled on their sides, facing one another in a tangle of pale limbs, cotton sleepwear, and wrinkled sheets. He spared them a gentle smile, before moving past them to gather his equipment.

Securing his armor and weapon, he slunk away as quietly as he could manage, making his way down the narrow hallway to the shared sitting room in the inn's main lobby. There he was met by a yawning Ruby Rose, who was currently complaining to her partner about using all the hot water the previous night.

Weiss merely quirked a pale brow, ignoring the whines as she flipped through a stack of lien, separating out a portion of the funds as the blonde quietly approached.

"Good morning, Jaune. Are you ready to meet with the others?"

He nodded silently, waving casually to the hooded huntress beside her, who was currently stifling another yawn.

The snowy-haired heiress shoved the stack of money into his hand, not waiting for a verbal response, "Here is your portion of the spending money. Use it wisely, Winter only gave me enough to buy the essentials and a few extras. We'll be able to make more by taking on freelance missions while we're here."

Jaune blinked slowly, nodding once more, as he shoved the cards into the leather pack on his belt, "No problem. I'm a pretty frugal guy to begin with."

Weiss nodded in acknowledgement, before tucking the rest of her money away and smoothing her hands down the front of her white skirt, "Alright then, let's head out. Neptune said to meet them down the street at the crosswalk in five minutes. We should get going."

The morning air of Mistral was a crisp, balmy 75 degrees, the soft breeze fluttering through hair and stroking cheeks in an easy caress. The sky was overcast, and a few murky clouds in the distance warned of a potential afternoon rain.

As the five young huntsmen convened at the assigned location, they briefly discussed what items needed to be procured from the market, as well as who would be responsible for obtaining them. Jaune knew he needed to hit a fabric shop for Nora, as well as a clothing store for himself, and Sun had agreed to accompany him and Ruby, since he was a master at bargaining the best prices on textiles. Weiss agreed that she would go with Neptune to the produce market for necessary groceries and food-stuffs. Exchanging lists with the intent to meet back at the in by 1200 hours, they divided into their two groups and headed toward their respective locations.

The walk to the market was a quiet one, the city only just beginning to rise. As they reached the entrance to the shopping district, Jaune and Ruby both stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the sheer amount of color in the place. This area of the market was a bazaar-style merchant set-up, filled with a combination of brick-and-mortar stores along the avenue, as well as countless vendor tents pitched along the thoroughfare. Each hut was swathed in colorful cloths of vibrant scarlet, lapis, emerald, and tangerine...every color one could think of was present in the explosion of silk and zeal that made up the area.

Vendors called out daily deals, specials, and bargains as the duo wandered through the fairly thin crowds, the entire forum a hub of festivity and revelry. Jaune honestly couldn't find a single frown on anyone's face. It was nice.

"I take it you like what you see?"

Jaune blinked toward the blonde monkey-faunus, offering him a soft smile and nod, "Yeah, it's a welcome change to be surrounded by so much happiness and bright energy. I think we all needed this right about now."

Sun's smile mirrored his own, hands clasping before him with a 'clap', "So, you need to hit a fabric shop? I know just the place."

The trio walked in silence for a bit longer, before Sun gestured toward a particularly gaudy looking tent, ushering the two in, not allowing them to complain or hesitate, "I know those looks. It's the same one I gave Scarlet when he dragged me in here the first time. Trust me, though, you'll thank me."

As soon as Jaune was pushed beyond the green silk shantung of the curtain, he found himself immersed in a sea of pretty colors that rivaled that of the market itself. Rich jewel tones bled into vibrant primary colors, which faded to the muted hues of nature. Jaune felt his jaw go slack once more, sapphire eyes scanning the shelves which were packed with thick, textured bolts of fabric. Mannequins displayed finished outfits for both men and women, draped in beautiful cloth and jewelry that seemed almost...familiar in a way.

Pacing over to the nearest display, Jaune was reminded of his late partner, the rich, vibrant scarlet of the wrap-style dress hugging the conservative silhouette of the mannequin, while cords of shimmering gold were bound about the waist in a braided pattern. The matching collar-style choker and bronze armband really drove the nostalgia to a new height, as his fingers twitched at his sides, aching to reach out and stroke callused fingers over the silken fabric.

"If you like that one, I can show you the fabrics that I used to make it."

Jaune turned his head to meet the owner of the soft, gentle voice addressing him, finding himself locking azure eyes onto a petite woman in her mid-to-late thirties. She had long, jet-black hair, secured in a delicate braid over her left shoulder, and her skin was the color of warm honey. She wore a simple, empire-waisted dress in a deep forest green; a thickly-woven, black shawl wrapped loosely about her narrow shoulders, and a silver, collar-style choker adorned her slender throat. Her face was downcast, concentrating on a logbook in her hands, bony fingers gripping a pen, as she scrawled notes down on the paper.

He was about to respond to the lady, who he assumed was the shop's proprietor, when suddenly there was a loud, piercing laugh from somewhere in the back of the shop, "Sun! Sun! You came back!"

Jaune's eyes flashed toward the sound, leaning around a spool of cinnamon-colored fabric to gain a clearer view of the situation. He found a smiling Sun Wukong, arms wide open in a grand gesture of reception, and a moment later there was a flash of red and blue as a small child darted toward him, leaping into his arms with another shrill shriek of glee. The child couldn't have been older than three or four, and had long, fiery red hair held back in a low ponytail - the shade so brilliant and saturated that it caused a twinge to pinch through Jaune's chest in nostalgia. She wore a royal blue, knee-length skirt and a black, short-sleeved blouse. Her feet were bare, and she wore no jewelry but a single, silver circlet embellished with sapphires on her head.

He allowed a soft smile to pull at the corners of his lips, before he decided to turn his attention to locating an appropriate fabric for Nora. He glanced about the aisles briefly, before settling on a soft, pink woven cotton that seemed close enough to her old uniform that she probably wouldn't mind. Snagging the spool from the shelf, he checked the price per yard, before he began to make his way toward the counter.

Passing the still-playing huntsman and child, Jaune shook his head in amusement, setting the bolt of fabric on the counter. Ruby drew up beside him, nodding in agreement with his fabric choice, as he fished his wallet out of his waist-pouch...promptly dropping it upon the shopkeeper's next words.

The dark-haired woman's voice carried on a stern, chastising tone, reaching all the way back to the rear of the store where Sun and the girl were goofing-off, "Pax Ann Nikos, it's time to calm down. We have other customers in the store and we wouldn't want to upset them."

Jaune didn't even process the soft groans of complaint from the child, the stiffness in Ruby's shoulders, or the sheepish look on Sun's face as he rubbed a hand through his shaggy locks. All he could focus on were the first three words the woman had just said.

 _Pax Ann Nikos…_

His entire body froze, fear flashing through him as the the little girl's mother slid behind the counter, scanning his purchase and taking the cash from his limp fingers, "Your total is 20 lien, will that be all today?"

He closed his eyes in shock, _No, it can't be…_

Snagging a tight breath, he steeled himself for the worst and raised his head.

The moment he locked eyes with the woman, he knew...

Those eyes were so familiar - deep, verdant pools of soft kindness that nearly brought Jaune to his knees right there in the middle of the shop. He was staring into Pyrrha's eyes all over again. If that were the case, then it could only mean…

"Mrs. Nikos?"

Jaune's stunned voice and Ruby's startled gasp echoed in the recesses of his own panic-addled mind, and he had to wonder if he was in another lucid dream.

"I'm sorry...but have we met?"

Taking a closer look at the shopkeeper, Jaune noted that, besides the haunting eyes, there really weren't any other similarities between the woman and his late teammate.

He felt Sun ease up next to them, and he remembered to breathe again, trembling fingers fumbling his wallet back into his waist pouch, "Oh, pardon me. Umm...no, you just...I think...I knew your daughter..."

The woman's green eyes seemed to sparkle with surprise, her mouth falling open on words of excitement, "Oh, you know Pyrrha! You must be visiting from Vale."

Jaune's brain stuttered once more, hoping silently that this was just a dream he would soon wake from - though he didn't hold much hope of that, "Um...how did you-"

"Please, you should stop by our home for some coffee. I'm about to close up for

lunch if you'd like to join me. I'd love to hear how you know Pyrrha. It's so rare that we hear from her."

The woman didn't let him get a word in edgewise, bending down to scoop up the small girl, balancing her at her hip.

Pax had the same, vibrant green eyes…she was practically a mini-version of

Pyrrha, and Jaune felt a lump form in his throat at the discovery.

He felt Ruby's small, but strong hand come to rest at his wrist, squeezing firmly for support, as Sun's voice filled the space beside them, "You okay there, buddy? I thought you said you were in town to meet Pyrrha's family. Well, here we are!"

Just as Jaune was about to get angry at the other's nerve, disbelieving that he could have brought him here knowing…

 _Wait...he_ _ **didn't**_ _know. All he knew was that we were here to see her family. Not why…_

His anger evaporated, replaced with an emptiness he wasn't sure how to handle. He was suddenly at a loss for words. Raising his eyes to meet the ones before him, he merely nodded in agreement, fingers fisting at his sides and heart plummeting in his chest, bathed in icy regret.

 _This isn't really what I'd planned, but I guess this is how it goes..._

* * *

Entering the small, quaint cottage near the bay, Jaune shuffled in through the narrow doorway, unsure what to do once inside. The walls and floors were the same white, chalky stone as most establishments in the area, but the cornflower blue and rich burgundy decor added a depth and warmth to the room. The small entryway opened up into a charming, comfortable kitchen and dining room combination, the furniture a rich, ebony-colored wood - handcrafted and meticulously kept. The kitchen itself, while cluttered - bronze and stainless steel pots and pans hanging from a rack on the ceiling; clear glass cabinets revealing countless, porcelain dishes and cups; and various spices and seasonings hanging in a revolving rack against the far wall - the room was pristinely clean, smelling of freshly baked bread and some sort of spicy dish likely prepared that morning.

Jaune and Ruby took a seat at the small table, Sun having cut out to give them some necessary time alone, and Mrs. Nikos flitted about the kitchen with smooth, graceful motions as she prepped the coffee and fixed a plate of biscuits,

"So, tell me about yourselves. How did you know Pyrrha again?"

The slight woman placed the platter and steaming cups before them, along with a small tray of condiments and mix-ins, "You mentioned you went to school with her."

Ruby smiled hollowly, the brightness not quite reaching her eyes, "Yes, ma'am...we were first-years at Beacon Academy. My team lived across the hall from her in the dorms."

Jaune watched with conflicted eyes as Mrs. Nikos scooped up her youngest daughter, removing her circlet before resting her head on her shoulder and taking a seat. Rocking her gently back and forth in a hypnotizing rhythm, she turned her attention back to the duo, "Oh, how nice...I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names, huntsmen. Where are my manners?"

Jaune seemed to wake back up at the question, his sapphire eyes blinking away the haze of disbelief, before clearing his throat and speaking, "Oh, I apologize. My name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. This is Ruby Rose."

Ruby nodded silently, stretching the smile a little too wide, a little too bright. But if Mrs. Nikos seemed to notice, she didn't comment, her sways slowing as the toddler nodded off to sleep,"It's nice to meet you Jaune, Ruby. Were you and Pyrrha good friends at Beacon?"

Jaune nodded, reaching for the steaming mug before him, taking a long swallow and savoring the rich, dark taste of the freshly ground coffee, "Your daughter and I were on a team together through our training."

Those green eyes blinked slowly for a moment in thought, head tilting and braid dragging across her shoulder, before a sudden realization crossed over her warm features, "Oh! You're that Jaune Arc. I wondered why your name sounded familiar," she stood from her seat, moving to carefully place the sleeping child on the sofa across the room, "Pyrrha wrote to me of you and her team frequently. She cared greatly for each of you. Said she'd never had better friends."

Jaune's eyes moistened at the information, but he blinked it back and turned toward Ruby, who was equally misty-eyed. The dark-haired huntress' smile waned slightly, her fists clenching in her lap, coffee forgotten, "Wow...I didn't know she talked about us to her family. I hope they were good things."

The older woman before them smiled kindly, nodded slowly as she fixed herself a cup before taking her seat once more, "Of course. You all made her very happy and she felt she was lucky to have such a great team and classmates. She was worried when she left home that she would be on a team with people

who didn't like her. I'm glad she was able to find you all."

Those words struck something in Jaune's memory, and he found himself grasping marginally tighter to his coffee mug. He ran his tongue over the straight line of his teeth, recalling a brief conversation he'd had with Pyrrha upon the formation of their team. At that time, she had expressed a concern that others wouldn't like her, and that she was glad to be on a team with such genuine, understanding people. The words had thrown him at the time, but now he felt he might receive some answers. Bringing his eyes back up to meet the emerald ones across the table, he schooled his expression to one of mild interest, masking the nerves and sadness that threatened to squeeze through the cracks and crevices in his guard.

"She said something similar after initiation and team formation. Why would

Pyrrha be worried? Everyone loves her."

A slow nod was Jaune's answer from across the way, the woman taking a sip of her coffee before setting it down, a dark look passing over her kind features. Jaune frowned slightly at the shift, glancing sidelong at Ruby, who appeared equally troubled.

They waited for what seemed like minutes before the dark-haired woman across from them finally spoke, a deep sigh the precursor to her startling words.

"I'm glad to hear that as well, but it wasn't always that way."

Jaune's frown deepened, and Ruby's voice held a tinge of disbelief as she answered, "What do you mean? Pyrrha's so selfless and friendly. How could someone not like her?"

Jaune felt an ominous energy forming around them, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed. He wondered if he really wanted to know the things his late partner's mother was about to reveal about her, but also knew he wasn't about to bow out and abandon Ruby to the wolves. This was his burden to bear, she was only here for support and information.

Mrs. Nikos' gentle voice adopted a tone of remorse, a deep disappointment coloring her words in shaded hues, as if she was just as hesitant to reveal the information as the pair across from her were to hear it, "Pyrrha wasn't always the woman you know her as today. She's changed quite a bit over her time at Beacon. It makes me happy to know that she was accepted so readily by the others. She wasn't so lucky here at Sanctum."

Jaune clutched his mug just shy of hard enough to fracture it, his white-knuckled grip causing the piping hot ceramic to burn his palms slightly. He didn't care, though...all he could focus on were the woman's alien words, a strange and heartbreaking tale of Pyrrha's past. It was one he wished he'd heard from his partner...not her next of kin.

Ruby's trembling words echoed beside him, her own pale fingers reaching to clutch her own mug as an anchor, "What do you mean? I can't imagine Pyrrha being disliked by her fellow students. She's so nice, and thoughtful, and-"

"She wasn't always like that."

Jaune and Ruby's heads whipped toward the rougher, deeper voice, eyes widening in a mixture of shock and confusion as they watched the intruder approach from the shadowed entryway.

The newcomer was a male, probably around their age, and extremely tall. Long, dark hair hung in a neat braid, which reached nearly to his tailbone, and was crowned with a silver-leaf circlet. His broad shoulders flexed against the sleeveless black and silver armor encasing his torso, and his long, pale arms were wrapped in lean, whipcord muscle - a testament to many hours of training and fighting. He wore elbow-length back gloves and a silver bracer on his left forearm, and a thick, leather carpenter-style belt hung about his narrow hips, onyx leggings tucked into black combat boots. He paused briefly at the corner, placing a long, Kopis sword, a full quiver of steel-tipped arrows, and silver Peltast Shield on a wall-rack, before turning back to the occupants of the room.

Jaune felt his eyes widen as their gazes locked, and once again he was staring into endless pools of emerald that had his chest tightening. However, these eyes were also harder, not nearly as gentle as Pyrrha's or her mother's. These were the eyes of someone who had seen things that could not be unseen - the eyes of someone who knew too much for his short life.

The man didn't bother introducing himself, before launching into his next statement, "When Pyrrha and I were students at Sanctum, she had a...reputation."

Mrs. Nikos sighed heavily, verdant eyes peeling across with thinly-veiled irritation and concern, "Parys, where are your manners?"

Jaune's eyes flashed widely for a different reason, his mind drawn back to memories of the conversation he'd had with Pyrrha after the dance last semester - the one where she had talked of her brother.

" _She's always been a quiet child, overflowing with affection, and extremely intuitive when it comes to others...that's an enviable trait…My brother isn't like that at all."_

" _Your brother?"_

" _Yes, I have a, well, slightly younger brother."_

" _Slightly younger?"_

" _You're not going to believe me when I tell you this."_

" _Try me."_

" _My brother, Parys...is only twelve minutes younger than me."_

" _No way…Pyrrha, you have a twin brother?!"_

" _I do."_

"A reputation?"

Ruby's words brought Jaune back to the present, and he noted that the man of interest didn't move to sit. He merely leaned against the edge of the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his broad chest, and verdant eyes trained to a spot on the floor.

"Yeah, she was...well, for lack of a better term, she was kind of a nerd."

Ruby chuckled slightly beside him, a petite hand rising to cover her traitorous lips to block the sounds, "You're joking, right? There's no way that Pyrrha-"

"I know it may be hard to believe, but it is the truth. Pyrrha was known for being unapproachable, distant, and extremely rough around the edges. She took advanced-placement everything, consistently received straight A's, and didn't have time for fun."

Parys' lithe fingers toyed with a salt shaker, spinning it between his digits as he continued, words laced in bitter humor, "Somehow, though, she didn't seem to understand why she couldn't make any friends. Her time at Sanctum was largely uninteresting to her, and she merely regarded it as a means to the end of being accepted into a higher-level huntsman academy. She couldn't wait to get the hell out of Mistral."

"Parys-"

Ruby's loftier voice collided with Mrs. Nikos' low and reproachful tone, a deep frown set upon her pale features as she met the man's eyes, "But...why would she do that? I can't-"

"The simple answer? She had no interest in perpetuating the archaic, cultural future Mistral had lined up for her. She believed the normal practices and traditions of our kingdom were outdated, oppressive, and she wanted no part in

them."

Jaune's mind trailed back to the few conversations he'd had with Pyrrha once more, his brow twisting in memory.

" _My family is unusually small for a standard Mistrali household. Normally, a young couple has a house full of children by the time they are my mother's age. I believe the average household in Mistral has six to nine children, but several have more than that."_

" _Well, it's quite silly, actually. There is a long-standing trend that women in Mistral marry and start families at a very young age. You could say that I'm nearly 'past my prime', even."_

" _I believe the average age for marriage is sixteen in Haven - most of my classmates at Sanctum were engaged or married upon combat school graduation. I had decided to wait."_

As if reading the thoughts in Jaune's mind, Parys nodded curtly, a touch of sadness pinching at the corners of his eyes, "She was top of her class, in both studies and practicum. She didn't have time to worry about how people viewed her or to work on her personality in order to make real friends. She was so focused on graduating on top, so that she could have her pick of full scholarships to any of the huntsman academies. I didn't understand it at the time, but now I do."

A regrettable confusion touched Ruby's words as she asked for clarity, "Understand what?"

Parys swallowed thickly, eyes shifting toward the small, stained-glass window above the kitchen sink, "Why it was so important to her. She always spoke about destiny, and how she wasn't sure if she believed in it or not. She would talk of her struggle to truly define the term, and to decide if it applied to her in a specific context. It seemed, after several months, she finally found her answer."

Jaune felt his stomach drop at the mention of destiny, remembering the evening he'd spent outside the cafeteria with Pyrrha. Her view on the subject had seemed really inspirational at the time, but now he could only taste the bitterness of her words and the ugly fate they had ultimately brought upon the woman.

Parys continued his story, eyes studying Jaune and an unreadable look taking up residence on his face.

"She told me, a week before our graduation, that she had decided to go to Beacon instead of Haven. She said that she wanted to start afresh - somewhere that no one knew her...well, intimately, at least. She's a celebrity, so she knew they would recognize her, but no one knew her on a personal level."

He moved from his place at the counter, pacing a few feet toward the sitting area, his fingers brushing against a portrait hanging on the wall. It depicted an idyllic, sunset over the harbor, and his words took on a softer tone, "She had a chance to start over as the person she really wanted to be. So she decided that she would change her personality, try harder to identify with others, and make real friends. She would write to me of all her insecurities, and how she wasn't sure it was a great idea. But then, when she was assigned to her team, all of that changed."

Jaune felt Ruby's gentle hand come to rest upon his trembling knee, a reassuring squeeze bringing him back from his thoughts. He swallowed around the dryness of his throat, raising his cooling beverage to wet his words before speaking, "It did?"

Parys nodded in affirmation, stepping away from the portrait and allowing his hands to fall to his sides, swinging lazily as he continued, his voice taking on a wistful quality, "Yes, I could suddenly hear the smile in her letters. I knew that she was making progress, and couldn't have been happier for her. She's been through a lot in her life, and if anyone deserves a fresh start, it's Pyrrha."

A moment of tense silence fell over the group, broken only by a soft sniffle from Ruby at his side, her grip tightening almost painfully on Jaune's knee. He lowered his callused hand to cover her own, tilting his chin to face her.

Ruby's silver eyes were painted with unshed tears, and her shoulders trembled as she fought to contain that emotion, not wanting to startle the others.

Parys stilled beside Jaune's spot at the table, frowning deeply at her shift in expression, but remaining silent.

Mrs. Nikos, however, was not so kind, though her voice dripped with it.

"What's wrong, Ruby? Something has been bothering you since we met. What is it?"

This was it. This was the moment they had been dreading since being assigned their mission to Mistral. Though they had both prepared as much as possible, it did nothing to quell the pulsing pain within their hearts - razor-sharp drags of agony licking over the barely scabbing wounds that Pyrrha had left upon Jaune's tensely beating organ.

Drawing a tight, shaky breath, Ruby's voice shattered out on a choked gasp.

"It's just...Pyrrha…"

Parys went completely still beside him, hands fisting at his hips, while his mother merely sunk back into her seat, brandishing her coffee mug at her lips as her words upset the stream of steam. Her eyes were shrouded in an unreadable emotion, but Jaune could see the tension in her shoulders as she spoke, "Oh. So...am I right in my assumption that your presence in Mistral isn't a coincidence?"

Jaune nodded his head regretfully, his own breath locked so tightly in his chest he was almost lightheaded at the lack of oxygen. But he simply couldn't breathe, couldn't draw in the air he needed, for fear that, if he did, he would break apart right there. However, that decision was made for him when a strong, long-fingered hand pressed firmly to the space between his shoulder blades, the heel of that hand shoving his chest forward and forcing his lungs to swell with burning air. Jaune could feel the other's aura flare slightly in an odd manner, then he heard those rough, knowing words.

"How did it happen?"

Jaune was dazed as blood rushed to his head, tears filling his eyes in a shimmering sheen as he blinked to rid himself of them, "Um..."

Parys' words struck him dumb, Ruby's eyes going wide beside him as the man dropped his hand from its place at Jaune's back, pulling out the only remaining chair, and plopping down beside the blonde, "Pyrrha...she's gone, isn't she?"

To say that Jaune was shocked would have been a gross understatement, Ruby's own disbelief reflected in the dimness to her silver eyes and the tightening of her grip at Jaune's skinny knee, "But...how?"

Those green eyes stroked over the wood-grain of the table's surface, before flicking up to lock onto Ruby's, the cloaked huntress seeming to shrink slightly under his intense gaze. Jaune stroked a thumb over the backs of her fingers, coaxing her to relax before she could lose her senses. Parys sighed roughly, before addressing the dark-haired girl, a sad smile twitching at the corners of his lips

"Ruby...we were twins. Haven't you ever heard the myth about twins?"

Ruby's expression twisted into a mixture of confusion, shock, and thoughtful introspection, her head shaking at the words, "No…"

Jaune's eyes rounded slightly, locking onto the other huntsman with a silent question, before speaking words wrapped in sadness, "Twins share a special bond...rooted in aura. They don't share the same semblance, but they do share aura. It's a story Nora told me a few months ago...I thought it was just a charming, little fable, but apparently it's true. Oh, Parys...tell me you didn't-"

"Since we share an aura link, I could feel when hers...when it cut out," his voice sounded thicker, heavier, and Jaune had to wonder how he was handling things.

Jaune couldn't imagine losing his twin sister, but maybe things were different for the Nikos family. They both seemed to be handling this news extraordinarily well.

Parys continued his tale, fingers threading before him as he sank back in his chair, "I was so confused, but when I didn't hear back from her when I normally do, and that aura thread never reconnected, then I knew...I've known for weeks."

His emerald eyes reached for the ceiling, as if doing his best not to reveal the breadth of emotion he felt, "So I ask you again...how did it happen?"


	9. The End's Beginning

Jaune couldn't breathe.

He existed in a mere state of shock, stricken nearly catatonic by the agonizing words that fell from his hooded classmate's mouth. She wove a horrifying tale, one which began with an exhilarating sense of hope and fierce determination, but ended in ashes and embers atop the remains of Beacon Tower.

Tears fell unchecked, though silently, from his azure eyes, lips parted on tight, labored breaths as he attempted to process the grotesque account of that night nearly two months prior. Ruby wasn't fairing much better, her voice dissolving into tears as she concluded the heartbreaking memory, pain tearing freshly over her heart.

Silence settled like a thick, suffocating shroud over the four individuals around the small table, as if no one was willing to shatter the moment and risk the consequences. That quiet lingered for nearly five long minutes, before the dark-haired huntsmen beside Jaune rested his elbows on the wooden surface, pressing his forehead to his gloved knuckles as he released a shuddering sigh.

"You really loved her, didn't you, Jaune?"

Those words seemed to smash the glass of the blonde's already fragile psyche, and he clenched his teeth around the swell of emotion that threatened to tear its way up his throat on a roar.

Swallowing against the primal sounds, he merely nodded jerkily, eyes closing in tedious restraint.

But Ruby seemed to find her voice, eyes flashing wide as she looked between the two huntsmen, pale hands swiping furiously over her cheeks to clear away the salty streams that marred her face,

"What? How did you-?"

"It doesn't take a genius to see it. You wear that emotion on your sleeve for everyone to see. She really meant something to you, or you wouldn't be this broken over her."

Parys' words resonated between them, an undeniable sadness surrounding each syllable, as he rose from his seat. Resting his long-fingered hands upon his narrow hips, he paced a few feet toward the sofa where his baby sister slept. Gazing upon her briefly, an unreadable emotion flickering over his verdant eyes, he spoke words filled with resignation.

"You must be something special yourself. My sister would never fall in love with just anyone," his head turned to rest a grave look on the blonde huntsman, "And I know for a fact that she was, without a doubt, completely in love with you."

Jaune felt nausea roll through him at the confirmation, eyes clenching shut as he swallowed thickly against the bile rising to his throat. Ruby's grip returned to his knee, a solid support as he fought

the panic that tried to rise up inside of him.

Parys seemed to sense his distress, for his next words were both a comfort and a lifeline, moisture finally rising within his haunted eyes.

"If it's any consolation, I'm glad she was able to die happy with a team who loved her, rather than wasting her life away here among familiar strangers. That's all she ever really wanted...thank you

all for loving her."

* * *

With their most daunting task behind them, the next five days flew by on the winds of a midwinter storm, rain drenching the port town for most of that time. The five classmates had spent their days bouncing between local freelance missions to earn lien, intense research at the local library and public records office, and interviewing many of the native citizens of Haven and the immediately surrounding villages.

Unfortunately, they had turned-up mostly empty-handed as far as the mysterious woman named Cinder and her indeterminate number of lackeys. However, they had uncovered some interesting and strange information about the traditions and cultural practices of the kingdom itself.

After the fateful conversation with Parys about Pyrrha's unfortunate circumstances, were she to have stayed in Mistral, combined with the information Pyrrha had given him about her home life, Jaune began to see an eerie pattern in the treatment and attitude toward local women and girls.

As Pyrrha had previously stated, it appeared to be a social and cultural norm that young women - regardless of occupation, race, or ethnicity - were encouraged to become betrothed to a respectable boy by sixteen years of age, if they were not already married. This archaic practice made Jaune reel with discomfort, as he believed sixteen to be too young to be deciding with whom you were going to spend the rest of your life - especially if you were under immense pressure to choose.

It also appeared that eligible bachelorettes always wore a circlet of some type upon their heads, adorned with the jewel of their birthstone. This was an outward symbol that they were available for marriage. Jaune felt exceptionally disagreeable with that knowledge, knowing that Pyrrha had always worn her bronze circlet and embedded peridots, even at Beacon.

 _I guess old habits die hard…_

Or maybe they didn't. Maybe Pyrrha had chosen to wear it out of some sign of sedition, or maybe she just really liked the design. Maybe it held sentimental value? Whatever the reason, Jaune still didn't feel all that great about it, considering its implications.

Upon further inquiry, Weiss had managed to figure out that, upon marriage, a lady's circlet was permanently removed and placed in a silk-lined chest. Later, the metal would be molded to become a circlet for her eldest daughter. It really was a strange and almost ritualistic tradition that just didn't sit well with Jaune, for some anomalous reason.

Parys didn't seem to care much for it, either.

The dark-haired huntsman attended Haven with Team SSSN, and was the leader of his own team: Team PWTR. Jaune had met two of his three teammates during a sparring session he and Ruby had been invited to attend. Windsor Grell and Rajah Shan were both born and raised in Mistral, and were more than happy to volunteer much of the information that had been gathered lately. Their third teammate, Tawny Levin, was originally from Vacuo - like Sun, and had been away visiting her family for the holidays.

Tawny was another example of a young woman, like Pyrrha, who had decided not to marry young. Parys had explained the hardships and discrimination she had received for her unorthodox choices, citing many scenarios where people would shun or talk down to her for her decisions.

Luckily, Tawny didn't seem to give half a damn about what others thought of her, oftentimes answering their bullying comments with a raised middle finger and cheeky smirk.

Jaune wondered how Pyrrha might have handled the taunts and jibes. Would she have eventually devolved into Tawny's crude behavior? Would she have stayed silent, strong, and resolute? Would she have eventually caved under the unkind words and inhumane pressure? He would never know, and that was one of the few things with which he could rest easy. He was beginning to realize that even beautiful, picturesque Mistral had its drawbacks and stigmas.

Jaune had just returned to their room after a long, unproductive day, lighting the oil lamp on the writing desk and moving to gather his things for a shower. However, just as he was heading for the adjoining restroom, there was a mysterious tapping sound behind him.

Twisting his head around, inspecting the room in a thorough sweep, he realized that it was coming from the window. Walking slowly toward the reading nook, he peered through the tinted glass, not seeing anything at first. Setting his toiletries and clothing down on the bench seat, he paused, rotating the window-handle. He pushed one side of the window open, startling almost violently as a black shadow darted in above his head. He jerked backward, catching himself on the edge of the bed before he could hit the floor, staring with wide eyes at the small, black bird that had flown into the room, now perched on the edge of the writing desk.

He sighed in relief, ready to shoo the animal back out of the window, when suddenly it began to warp and blur before him. His heart nearly stopped as it morphed quickly into the shape of a familiar man. Not a moment later, he was staring at one of the last people he had expected to see.

"Qrow…?"

The weathered and worn huntsman sighed deeply, pulling out the desk chair and taking a heavy seat. His shoulders sank back against the hard wood of the chair, an ankle crossing over a knee as he folded his arms over his chest and locked eyes with the startled blonde. Quirking his left brow in mild amusement, he jerked his head to the side, gesturing for Jaune to sit, pulling a flask from his pocket.

"Take a seat, kid. I've got some information for you and I don't need you fallin' over on me."

A soft frown tugging at his brow, Jaune took a seat in the bay window, pulling the glass shut, before turning back to the intruder. The man looked like hell - his hair was unkempt and ashen, his clothing was dusty and worn and the dark shadows beneath his eyes betrayed the fact that he had likely not slept well in quite some time. To say he was shocked at the man's unusual appearance was an understatement - he was floored, nearly literally. He'd had no idea Qrow was a shapeshifter, though he supposed it explained a few lingering suspicions he'd had about the man.

"I suppose you're probably wondering why the hell I'm here. I'll spare you the frustration of playin' 20 Questions and cut right to the chase."

Jaune pulled his legs beneath him to sit tailor-style, feeling a sense of unease wash over him. Qrow would never have sought him out if not for some new, and probably not beneficial, development in his investigation. The man likely needed something from him, and would probably not take 'no' for an answer.

"An...associate of mine would like to meet with you. Says they may be able to offer you some assistance with your mission. They want to know if you would meet with them to discuss terms."

Jaune's frown melted into a troubled confusion, "Um, what?"

Qrow sighed thickly, running a long-fingered hand through thick, dark hair. He seemed to ponder his next words before speaking them, his opposite hand twirling a pen he'd found on the desk,

"Personally, I think you should take them up on it. You won't get another offer like this - I know

from experience."

Jaune was puzzled beyond reasoning, shaking his head in confusion, as he stared at the older man across from him, "But...what is this about? How do I know I'm not walking into something dangerous?"

Qrow chuckled roughly, his fingers toying with the silver cross at his throat, "Oh, it's gonna be dangerous, all right - no doubt about that. However, I think you'll find that the rewards might outweigh the benefits...in the long-run, anyway."

Silence settled as Jaune tried to wrap his mind around what Qrow was attempting to offer him. Why all the mystery? If he was supposed to meet this 'associate' of the man before him, why not just be upfront about expectations and identity? Jaune didn't enjoy talking in riddles - he was much more honest and direct in his manner of speech and action.

"Look, Qrow, I get you're trying to help me out here, but I'm going to need a little more information before I can commit to something like this. I'm just not comfortable-"

"We've been told all our lives that death is the ultimate finality - that there are none who can escape the eternal sleep. Though you may believe yourself prepared, death has a way of catching us all by surprise. We all bleed red in the end."

Jaune blinked at the interruption, thrown for a loop and feeling a twist in his belly at the cryptic words, "What-"

"But what if I told you that death didn't have to be the end?" Qrow leaned forward in his seat, bracing his elbows on his knees and locking eyes with the blonde huntsman, "What if I told you that there was a small chance to reverse the cycle?"

 _What the hell is he talking about…?_

Jaune blinked in confusion, preparing to request clarification. However, the man before him seemed in no mood for questions, continuing his thought in a voice that dared the blonde to interrupt.

"Many wouldn't hesitate to revive their loved ones, impatient at the opportunity to be reunited in the midst of grief."

At this, the taller man stood to full height, shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his black slacks, pacing toward the bay window and gazing out upon the dusky night, "But what if I also told you that there was a steep price for such a bargain?"

He turned sharply, piercing Jaune with his intense stare, as if expecting a response that wouldn't come, "What price would be too great to reverse time itself?" a dark chuckle fell from his lips, as he threw his head back, staring at the white ceiling, "The answer might surprise you even more than death…"

Jaune's brain reeled with those words, a sudden realization niggling in the back of his consciousness. _Reverse time...reverse the cycle...reverse death…_

His eyes widened at the formation of an unbelievably naive thought.

 _Pyrrha…?_

His heart clenched and stomach lurched uncomfortably at the notion, hands fisting in the cushions beneath him as she began to rise.

Qrow tracked his movements, nodding subtly at the look of disbelief spreading across the young man's' face, "You gettin' it now, aren't you? So, how about that meeting?"

Jaune nodded wordlessly, mind flying in all different directions, filled with implications, wishes, and possible outcomes of whatever the man behind the curtain had to offer.

"Good. Don't worry about finding us; we'll find you. Be ready when the time comes. We'll reveal ourselves when you're alone."

A few minutes later the man left out the window without another word, Jaune in a dazed, half-coherent state of pure, unadulterated shock. His mind raced in ten different directions, so many questions piling up on top of one another.

That night, for the first time in many, many weeks...Jaune did not dream of scarlet hair or verdant eyes. He dreamed of black feathers and crimson eyes, beckoning him to rewrite his fate.

* * *

Jaune did his absolute best to act as normal as possible around the others, though his head was swimming with possibilities and assumptions - unsure what to really believe at this point. He had no idea what to expect when he would finally meet with Qrow's 'associate', and he couldn't help but wonder at the validity behind the offer. However, if Qrow had confidence in this person, then who was Jaune to doubt him.

The biggest development in this new turn of events was the revival of Jaune's previous drive to find a solution - a way to fix this mess that had seemed to make a disaster of their once wonderful and fulfilling lives. He knew that there had been a reason for his hope - that it wasn't some empty, naive pipe-dream. If there was some way to bring her back, some way to return things to the way they were before, then this was it. It had to be…

As the day progressed, Jaune felt his spirits rise a bit, a renewed vigor and determination pumping through his blood and beginning to heal the nicks and cuts on his now optimistic heart. So, it wasn't any wonder that the others started to give him funny looks when he sat down to lunch with them that afternoon.

"Uh, Jaune...is the light playing a trick on my eyes, or are you smiling?"

Ruby's curious voice reached his ears and the twitch at his lips grew a tad bit wider. His azure eyes rose to meet her own, brows quirking in amusement as he took another bite of his sandwich,

"I don't know...I guess I just feel a little different today - like our luck's about to turn around."

He leaned back against the rough stones of the courtyard, watching as Nora chased Ren's mouth around with a purple grape for a moment, before he allowed her to slide it between his lips. He caught her finger lightly with his teeth, causing her to squeal in mock outrage, before they both dissolved into an easy laughter.

Jaune allowed an affectionate smile to pass over his features at his two teammates, Ruby's giggles joining their laughter as she pretended to be grossed-out by the flirtatious display. Glancing off to the side, he noticed Weiss sitting by herself on the bench across the plaza, beneath the largest fig tree. She seemed to be writing in a notebook, while flipping through the pages of a folder in her lap. She blew a stray hair out of her face, a frown tugging at her brows as she squinted slightly at something she had just written. Pale fingers spun her pen around like a baton, one foot tapping on the grass below, as she tilted her head in concentration.

She really is quite lovely...like the snow on the mountains back home, Jaune thought to himself, remembering when his feelings for Weiss felt undeniably unrequited. Back then, he really had been interested in getting to know her better. However, looking back, knowing what real love truly was, his crush on Weiss couldn't hold a candle to what he now felt for Pyrrha. It wasn't that he believed Weiss was some past indiscretion or a waste of time, he just now knew that those fleeting emotions he'd had for her were now morphed into more of a brotherly concern and friendly companionship.

Rising from his seat, he dusted his jeans off with gloved hands, snagging a Granny Smith apple, before making his way over to where the Schnee heiress sat. Plopping down beside her on the white-washed stone, he ignored her startled sputtering of fractured syllables, offering the apple to her in his open palm, "You really need to eat something. You can't just subsist on coffee and paperwork."

Her face pinched in a belligerent frown, before softening at the edges and delicately removing the offered fruit from his palm. She weighed it in her hand for a second before biting a huge chunk out of it, closing the book in her lap, using the notepad as a place-marker. Leaning her weight back against the rough stone, Weiss sighed heavily, sinking her weight into her shoulders as she closed her eyes against the gentle breeze.

"Sometimes I feel like we haven't made any progress in the week we've been here. Am I delusional, or just sleep-deprived?"

Weiss uncharacteristic question threw Jaune a bit, turning him to face her and remove the books from her lap. He ignored the alarmed gasp of surprise, taking her by the elbow and pulling her to her feet.

"Come on, bring your apple. Leave everything else. We'll be back."

Ignoring the stares of the others as he ushered her past the main gates, he pulled her to stand beside him in the small side-lot overlooking Haven Academy's campus. The spot didn't hold any significant value to him, only that it brought them away from prying eyes so that he might have a private word with her.

"Weiss, I know you're stressed. Believe me, I am, too. We all are."

He noted the tight frown twisting at her forehead, the over-sized, grey sweater she wore billowing slightly at the elbows as she crossed her arms over her narrow chest. She didn't look at him, but he knew she was listening, nonetheless. So he continued, undeterred by her silence.

"You need to slow yourself down a bit. Let yourself relax occasionally. All of this won't be worth anything if you burn yourself out and shut down. I have much experience with this..."

Weiss allowed him a soft snort, lifting her chin to gaze out over the massive school, listening to the bells tolling at the monastery down the road, signaling the 2pm vespers. Hums and chanting followed soon after, accompanied by the low, beating cadence of drums and gongs.

Jaune released a gentle sigh as he listened to the spiritual ululations, shoving his gloved hands into his denim pockets, before breaking the quiet once more, "You know, we're all here for you. It can't be easy leaving everything behind, and knowing that the terms on which you left were not the terms you desired."

Weiss' frown relaxed at his words, ice-blue eyes blinking slowly, as she moved to lean against the stone wall of the privacy barrier around the inn, "Leaving home isn't what's concerned me. If I never see my father and that ghastly residence again it will be a day too soon."

"Then, what is it?"

Weiss heaved a heavy sigh, kicking at a stray rock, and watching it ping off a street sign before responding, "It's just...for the first time in my life, I'm calling my own shots. It's liberating and wonderful, of course...but I have no idea what I'm doing."

Jaune chuckled softly, turning to rest a hand on the fair-haired huntress' shoulder, drawing her eyes to his own to answer with a soft smile, "None of us have any idea what we're doing. Why don't you talk to Ruby about it? She seems to have been living by her own rules for quite some time. I bet she could give you a few pointers."

Weiss snorted at that, dropping her arms to her sides and taking a few paces onto the grassy field, the short threads of green folding over her black flats and tickling her bare ankles, "Hah, that dolt! She would have me eating cookies for every meal, hunting Grimm for sport, and running all over the world looking for adventure. As tempting as those things may be, I don't think they are conducive to our mission."

Jaune raised a brow at the notion, but shook his head in amusement. He followed the other out into the field, sinking his hands back into his pockets as he imparted what little wisdom he had picked up in the last few weeks, "Forget the mission, Weiss. You are more than just a huntress. You are a woman first, and a human being. If you can't fulfill your own basic needs, then how can you expect to meet anyone else's?"

Weiss went completely silent at that, a contemplative look spreading over her sharp, angular features. She pulled a deep breath in through her nose, her shoulders sinking under an invisible weight, as she gazed out at the domed roofs of the academy, "Jaune, I can't just stop. There are people depending on us, justice to be served, and a war to avoid. We can't just take a vacation here...we came here to work, not-"

"We came here on a lead - and a vague one at that," the blonde's voice was firm, yet understanding, his steps bringing him to stand beside her, "Just because we're on the brink of war...just because we are halfway across the world from our homes...and just because we're making this up as we go doesn't mean that we aren't still human beings with basic needs."

He allowed himself a sigh of his own, before turning to face the blue-eyed huntress, "It's not a crime to let yourself just relax and let go every so often. It's good for the soul."

A tight smile quirked at the corners of Weiss' pale lips, her fingertips playing at the hem of her light denim shorts, as she closed her eyes to the gentle wind that passed over them, bearing the scent of the sea on its caress, "I know all of this...believe me, I do. Things have just been...different lately, especially with Ruby."

Jaune frowned lightly, tipping his chin to regard Weiss with a questioning stare, "What do you mean? What's wrong? Did something happen between you two?"

A frustrated sigh fell from Weiss' lips, her eyes popping opened, a petite hand rising to run thin fingers through stray bangs that had fallen free of the bun atop her crown. A troubled look played at her features, and Jaune could tell that she wasn't sure if she was comfortable talking about this with him. Then she spoke.

"Ruby's been acting, well, weird lately...I'm not sure what to think of it. One minute she is the most annoying person on the planet and I can't get away fast enough...Then the next, she says or does something that gives me pause. Then, suddenly, I just need to be in her space, sharing that wonderfully overwhelming energy she gives off like a supernova. It's like, all of a sudden, she isn't that stupid, immature child I met at orientation. There's something different about her, something stronger...comforting...some-"

"Something more?"

A look of shock passed over Weiss' startled eyes, her lips falling open in disbelief, "How did you-"

"The first time Ren told me he was in love with Nora, that's almost exactly how he described it."

A nearly scandalized expression took over those fair features for the briefest of moments, almost as if a sudden realization was awakening within her stress-addled mind. But Jaune pressed on. She needed to hear this.

"One day you look up and they aren't the same person as before. They're more."

She needed to be honest with herself. If there was no other lesson to be learned from all of this messy, stupid chaos - it was honesty and action.

At that moment, Weiss' eyes were frozen in wide, startled circles, a tension twisting at her jaw and her hands clenching at her sides. A tremble shook through her shoulders, before Jaune rested a hand at her elbow, redirecting her attention, "It isn't a crime to fall in love with your best friend, Weiss. These things happen…a lot."

"Oh…"

Sensing the conflicted energy surrounding the snowy-haired huntress, Jaune squeezed lightly at the crook of her elbow, drawing her attention once more, "By the way, I hope it works out for you two. Really, you deserve someone to look at you the way she does."

That flustered expression was back, fluttering over Weiss pale face, as she turned around, prepared to head back to the courtyard, "And just how does she look at me?"

Jaune's words stopped her in her tracks.

"Like you are a walking, breathing piece of art. Like everything else stops, and she can't tell if it's been seconds or minutes."

Though the frown remained in place on her brow, Weiss' eyes began to fill with moisture, their light-blue depths swimming with tears, her bottom lip quivering in an attempt to hold them back.

But Jaune wasn't finished.

"Like all the parts of you, that you think are too hard to love, can be the parts she loves the most…"

Weiss was one of the most stubborn people that he knew. Even though hot tears were leaking from her eyes, she refused to allow her expression to break, chin tipped upward and jaw set in a prideful expression that desperately screamed for reprieve.

Turning to face the petite huntress, Jaune raised his right arm, lifting a gloved hand to cup the back of her snowy head. He gently pressed her face into his shoulder just as the dam broke and the first sob fell from those contentious lips, tears soaking into the black fabric of his t-shirt.

And there Jaune stood, a silent sentinel, guarding her shame and confusion and release...because everyone had their weak points from time to time - even the Ice Queen.

* * *

Running a tired, gloved hand through his sweat-slick hair, Jaune made his way down the dimly-lit hallway, heading directly for the showers. The training session with Nora and Ren had run a little longer than planned, since they were easing the redhead back into normal combat - her bandages nearly ready to be removed.

He felt that today had been a good day. He'd had a breakthrough with Weiss, a good session with his teammates, a relaxing lunch with his friends, and now he planned to round it off with a hot shower and good night's sleep.

 _But, of course, thing rarely went to plan for him..._

Just as he rounded the corner, turning to make his way down the corridor to his room, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His aura hummed beneath his flesh, alerting him to an unseen presence. That was all the warning he got before he felt something snap around his right elbow and drag him swiftly into a pitch-black room.

Regaining his footing, Jaune breathed heavily, attempting to slow his racing heart - recognizing that the touch, though firm, was not a threatening one. Blinking his eyes in the dimness, he turned his head toward the sound of a match striking aflame, the amber glow of an oil lantern radiating a dim, yet warm glow around the modest, bedside table.

The figure illuminated was, as expected, Qrow Branwen - the shadows beneath his eyes appearing darker in the dimness.

"I hope you came prepared for the shitstorm we're about to lay on you, kid. Seems things have gone and gotten more complicated since yesterday."

The words that fell from the elder huntsman's lips made Jaune frown, an unsettling feeling sinking into his gut like a heavy stone. Saving himself the trouble, he moved to take a seat at the edge of the single bed in the chamber, knowing that Qrow would likely request it of him anyway. Sinking against the mattress, he glanced around the darkness, searching for the 'associate' the man had indicated would be joining them for this meeting. Seeing no one, the blonde's frown deepened,

"Umm...wasn't there supposed to be a third party here? Did something happen-"

"Do you believe in magic, kid?"

Jaune blinked, slightly thrown by the odd question, "Umm...well, I believe that there are things that exist in this world that I will never understand. Recently, I've learned to not write anything off as

fantasy."

If Qrow was unsatisfied with his answer, he didn't give any signs of it, merely backing up slowly toward the window, shrouded in darkness as he stepped out of the candlelight glow. But his voice reached Jaune on an echo through the inky blackness.

"Do you believe in the manipulation of time?"

Jaune literally reeled back slightly at the notion, fingers curling against the thick quilt beneath him,

"I'm not sure I follow."

He didn't miss the other's raspy sigh, the sound of the window creaking open squeaking through the dimness. The lunar light filtered in as hazy waves of silver, illuminating the tall, rugged huntsman from his recline on the bench seat of the bay window.

"Serendipity, fate, deja vu, destiny…?"

The last word struck Jaune with a force that nearly stole his breath, swallowing thickly against the

knot of grief forming in this throat. He could only nod in response, afraid his voice would break and betray him if he spoke.

Watching Qrow's face in the firelight, he noted the drawn lines of his expression, a haunting ghost behind those crimson eyes as he continued.

"I'm gonna need you to keep a very open mind from here on out."

Confusion hit Jaune with a nauseating suspicion, head tilting at the unsettling request.

However, what happened next had Jaune reevaluating his hesitance at the existence of magic. Not a moment later, Qrow raised an outstretched hand, palm up and beckoning to the shadows of the tree outside. One of those shadows seemed to come to life, landing in the man's palm with a flutter of murky...feathers?

As the glow flickered around the man, Jaune could make out the silhouette of a large, black bird, blood red eyes nearly glowing in the darkness.

 _A...raven?_

Before he could ponder the reasoning for the bird's presence, his eyes flashed widely, the shape of the creature warping and shifting, before there was a flash of scarlet light and the image transformed into the silhouette of a masked woman.

Blinking against the spots behind his eyes, Jaune gasped at the new presence - onyx and scarlet silk against incredibly pale flesh; a monstrous sword and sheath that appeared to be some form of rotary dust device; thick, layered hair the texture of obsidian feathers terminating at a narrow waist; and that terribly frightening porcelain mask of a Nevermore, crimson eyes blinking through the slats in the dim, golden glow, much like a demonic gaze straight into his soul.

Jaune could feel his heart thud behind his ribs, a damning dirge that foreshadowed something darker, much more sinister than he had initially anticipated.

The woman took a step forward, closing the distance between them, as a leather-gloved hand rose to press flatly against his chest-plate. His breath halted in his throat, lips falling open in surprise at the proximity, before he felt a surge of energy burst around him, his flesh crawling with an icy chill as a crimson glow enveloped his body - radiating from the strange woman before him. A sudden dizziness assaulted him, but he blinked his azure eyes to maintain his wits, staring into those glowing red eyes behind the mask.

There was something draining about that energy, but it didn't seem to be posing him any harm. It was almost as if it were... _searching_ for something.

"Hey, sis, cut it out. You're gonna make him pass out, and we need him at least semi-coherent if you want his cooperation."

 _Sis? Qrow has a sister…? But-_

A dark, heavy sigh slipped from beneath the mask, before the energy suddenly cut out, the eerie glow extinguished to return them to the dimness of the candlelight. The gloved hand dropped away from his chest, his body suddenly feeling heavier, as if he had just run a mile in the blazing sun - a thin sheen of perspiration coating his flesh and itching against his nearly-healed wound.

"Well, at least you found the right one this time...I really didn't want to use the brother."

Her voice was smooth like silk and dark as the night outside the open window - flowing from behind porcelain, carrying a weighted bite of irritation, but tempered by a softness that betrayed her fondness for the man at her back. Turning over her shoulder, the mysterious woman pulled out the wooden chair beside the writing desk, spinning it around and gesturing toward the man at the window.

"Why don't you come join us, Qrow? You make me nervous when I can't see you."

The dark-haired huntsman scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest before rising, "Maybe if you took that damn ugly mask off every once in awhile, you might have a wider range of vision. How about that?"

The woman chose to ignore him, lifting herself up to perch gracefully atop the small writing desk, as she turned her attention back to the confused blonde.

"Jaune Arc, huh? You look so much like your father it's almost like staring at a memory…"

His blonde eyebrows shot skyward, mouth falling open on a stuttered breath, "Um...you know my old man?"

A dark chuckle echoed against the shadows, "I know of your old man...I've run across him a time or two in my line of work. But that's neither here nor there. We've called you here for a reason beyond your filial ties."

Jaune frowned at the sudden switch in tone, the mood shifting to one of barely-veiled anxiety and imminent uncertainty. As he drew a soft breath, preparing himself for what was to come, the blonde felt his fabricated calm shudder under the weight of her words.

"We believe we have a time fugitive on our hands, and we need your help undoing what they've destroyed."

No other combination of words would have shaken Jaune's concentration and understanding so thoroughly as that combination of absurd statements. He tried to work his jaw and tongue, breathing syllables against the chilling air around him, hoping he didn't sound as small as he felt.

"Time fugitive?"

A grunt from the window ledge drew Jaune's attention back to the other huntsman, the man drawing up from his reclined position to make his way toward them, "There are only a handful of people scattered throughout the kingdoms with the ability to manipulate time in such a manner, but it seems someone has been doing it as a late."

Qrow's shoulders sagged slightly, as he ran a hand through messy, faded locks. He snagged the back of the chair his sister had offered, spinning it to straddle the seat with a frustrated sigh, "One of our enemies seems to have been acting-out a process called 'time leaping'. It's a highly illegal practice - punishable by life imprisonment if caught. We don't know who or how, we only know they have gone and made a right mess of things."

Jaune watched in amazement, trying to process the meaning behind his words, as the woman picked up where he had faded out on a groan, "Whoever they are, they're screwing with the timeline - altering specific, crucial events along the way. We believe these alterations have contributed to a few key losses on our side...one specifically being your partner's untimely demise."

Jaune's chest seized at the reveal of such a heartbreaking detail, his fingers fisting in the blanket below him, as he clenched his teeth around the bile rising in his throat, "You mean to tell me...that my partner...she was supposed to live?"

Hot moisture filled his eyes, blurring his vision and fueling his growing indignation, "You're telling me that someone changed...something...and caused her death? That it was avoidable?"

There was a heavy silence that settled over them, time seeming to stand still, as Jaune's chest heaved with barely-restrained fury - waiting for the answer that would determine how he chose to feel about this new development.

A few moments later, the woman spoke once more, her voice softer, and laced with a tinge of empathy that seemed to take the edge off of Jaune's current ire, "That's exactly what we mean. Your anger and unwillingness to let go were not misplaced...she should still be here today. Since that choice was unfairly taken from you both...we want to offer you the chance to rectify the situation, if you are willing."

Those words froze Jaune and obliterated his anger, an arctic chill racing through his blood and settling in his chest like an iceberg.

 _A chance…?_

A chance was all he had ever wanted since he'd lost Pyrrha. A chance… an opportunity to fix what was broken, retrieve what was lost, and restore their fractured team and his shattered heart to some semblance of the normality they had so enjoyed before it all came crashing down around them in a smoking, burning mess.

"But...how?"

His voice was shakier than he would have liked, the words trembling from his quivering lips as his hands quaked against the mattress.

The woman before him took a breath, her shoulders sagging slightly, and fabric rustling as she crossed one leg over the other, "There are a few...details about our circle-of-trust to which you have not yet been made privy, kid."

Jaune wasn't sure he liked where this was going, but also understood that there was no turning back from this. He'd come too far, was in too deep...he had to see it through.

"Some of the people in your life - Glynda, Ironwood, even Ozpin - are not who they may seem at face value. They - along with Qrow, myself, and a select few other individuals - are the protectors of Remnant...a secret brotherhood of sentinels who guard the world from unspeakable evils that the wildest of imaginations could not conjure."

She flinched slightly, tilting her masked face toward the left to acknowledge Qrow's hand covering her own on the smooth wood of the desktop, offering silent support for something the blonde could not decipher.

Qrow picked up where she left off, dark, husky voice narrating a verse twined with secrets, fairy tales, and paradoxes that had Jaune's head spinning.

"Remnant is full of tales and stories, some true, others fabricated for dramatic effect and the thrill of a good story. However, there are two tales which deserve special attention - their relevance to our...situation warranting special regard."

His hand squeezed perceptively tighter around his sister's, as if to assure her that he was just as

troubled by this as she, "The Tale of the Seasons...and the Legend of the Time-Keepers."

Jaune nodded in acceptance - he was familiar with both of those stories. They were favorites of his sisters. He knew them by heart, "Okay, so the story of the 4 seasonal maidens who visited an old wizard that gave them amazing powers. Got it. Great story. But, how is this relevant to our conversation?"

Qrow's throaty chuckle drew Jaune's eyes toward him, a crooked smile painting the veteran huntsman's face, "Well, actually, it has a lot to do with our current situation...mainly because it's true."

A dry laugh broke from Jaune's chest before he could restrain it, "Come on, now. It's a children's story. That's like saying that magic is a real, tangible thing...wait...is this why you asked me why I believed in magic earlier? So you could tell me that fairy-stories and make-believe things are real? Forgive me for my reservations."

Jaune didn't have time to realize his mistake before he was pinned roughly to the wall with enough force to knock the breath from him, a gloved hand wrapped tightly around his throat by the seething, dangerously-angry, masked woman. Those scarlet eyes bore into him with a barely-restrained fury that threatened to incinerate him, should she loosen even a fraction of that iron-tight control.

"I believe you need to shut your ignorant little mouth until we've finished telling you what you need to hear. You are lucky I respect your father and have a use for you, or I'd crush your windpipe and leave you to suffocate to death right here. No one would find you until your corpse began to stink days later."

The blonde saw stars fizzling behind his eyelids, breath barely squeezing out from beneath the vice grip at his throat, and he was quickly becoming light-headed at the pressure. Qrow seemed to say something, then the constriction was promptly released, Jaune crumbling to the bed in a coughing, choking heap.

"Sorry, kid...my sister doesn't play well with others."

Rubbing a gloved hand over his tender throat, Jaune drew slow breaths, noticing that the woman was already back at her previous perch on the table. Her voice returned to the calm, velvety tones from earlier, "In this world, there exist four maidens - women who wield unimaginable power beyond the normal scope of aura and semblance...without the use of dust. These four women represent the four seasonal maidens from the original fairy tale, and are trusted to act as guardians of the people of Remnant."

Jaune absorbed her words, staring at her in silent awe as she continued.

"You have already encountered one of the maidens...in the CCT vault beneath the school."

 _That girl...in the pod. She was a maiden? But then what was Pyrrha-_

"Unfortunately, her power was stolen by one of the assailants we now hunt - one Cinder Fall. Appropriate that she has stolen the Fall maiden's powers...While I can appreciate the irony, the implications of such a travesty spell certain doom for all of us if we allow it to continue. That's where the Legend of the Time-Keeper comes in..."

Qrow stood as her words trailed off, coming to stand at her side, removing a flask from his pocket, "The Time-Keeper - a bearded old man in flowing robes, a scythe in one hand and an hourglass in the other. He is responsible for ensuring that time pass uninterrupted and free of mortal manipulation. If someone were to break the laws of reality and tamper with the timeline in any way, the Time-Keeper is responsible for catching the infraction, reporting it the appropriate authorities, and seeing that the situation is resolved in a timely, efficient manner."

Jaune wasn't sure how this was supposed to tie-into the story of the maidens, frown twisting against his forehead as he listened.

It was the woman's turn to speak once more, her eyes rising to lock onto the blonde with a touch of sadness, "This is where the reality diverges from the fairy tale a bit. In the original story, the Time-Keeper is believed to be the same hermit Wizard from the Seasonal Maiden's tale. However, in our world, they are two, very different individuals."

As the woman finished speaking, she moved to stand beside her brother, a silent figure of terrifying beauty and lethal grace. When Qrow spoke, it was with heavy, burdened words the weight of lead and stone, as he pulled his weapon from its place at his back, revealing a clockwork

of cogs at his grip.

"An hourglass…" he thumbed the switch below the gear-wheels, the mechanism whirring to life and the cogs spinning as the blade segmented, curved, and expanded to form a reaper's weapon twice the size of Ruby's, "...and a scythe."

 _Oh..._

It took a few minutes of silent thought on Jaune's part to completely comprehend what Qrow was trying to tell-him-without-really-telling-him. When it fully clicked into place, his eyes widened,

"So...you're…"

A nod was his response, the seasoned huntsman flicking his eyes to gaze out of the window with a wistful expression.

"Yeah, I felt the disturbance shortly before the sirens went off during the Grimm attack at Beacon. Something was altered around the time your partner was shredding that robot girl to pieces. That's not what it was, but something that was happening at the same time...it could have been anything, big or small. Anything from an ignored phone call to an unplanned kill. There's really no way to know looking back from here."

Qrow took a moment to collapse his sword once more, replacing it at his back, as he locked eyes with the blonde.

"We believe that, if only those few, tiny changes had not occurred, a number of things would have gone differently. Cinder would never have shown up in that vault, the transfer would have been completed, Pyrrha would have survived, and Beacon would not have fallen."

Jaune felt the iciness of a jolting shock wash over him, like frost in his blood, and he felt hot tears spring to his eyes before he could even register they were there. This validated everything he had subconsciously believed, everything he had wished and hoped for...there was a chance, no matter how small. He wanted to yell, scream, demand they tell him right this instant how he could fix it - how he could bring her back. But then his conscious and reason gave him pause.

If he were to do this...to 'rectify the situation' as they said he could, what would it cost?

 _There's always a catch…_

It was only a matter of time before it would be revealed.

The mystery woman's silky voice held an unnamed sadness as she continued the exposition, "It it's any consolation...this isn't the first time we've had to do this, and it probably won't be the last. These unfortunate things tend to happen at least a few times per generation."

Jaune wasn't about to lie to himself - the sheer amount of information he was currently attempting to process was vast and overwhelming. But he pressed forward, because this was probably the single most important decision he would need to make in his entire life, and he wasn't about to cop out on the details now. There was still one, main question pressing on his thoughts, "But...why me? What could possibly give you the idea that I'm the right person to be handling this kind of responsibility? I'm a failure! I couldn't protect her the first time; what makes you think I'll succeed on a second attempt?"

The silence was thick around the trio as Jaune awaited their answer, anticipation gnawing at his gut. The siblings were still, unmoving in the dimness, but for the gentle sway of Qrow's coattails in the breeze filtering in from the open window. When the woman finally moved to answer, it was with resigned and heavy tones, her figure sinking back to lean against the edge of the table.

"It has to be you, because you already hold a part of her inside of you."

Jaune physically recoiled at the statement, eyes flashing widely, and jaw falling slack as he struggled to interpret her meaning, "Umm...what?"

Qrow crossed his arms over his chest once more, cocking his hip against the opposite side of the table, "She unlocked your aura, didn't she?"

Jaune frowned at the statement. How could he have possibly known that? And what did that have to do with 'holding a part of her inside of him'?

"Well, yeah, but how does that-"

"When one person unlocks another's aura, a tiny fraction of their own energy is transplanted into the other. It's what acts as the catalyst for the awakening."

The masked woman's voice cut through any protest Jaune might have formed, his words dying on his lips as he curled in on himself, raising a hand to flatten against his padded chest, remembering that day in the Emerald Forest - the words she had spoken.

 _Unbound by death...I release your soul. And by my shoulder, protect thee..._

"Since you already possess this link to her, it will make the connection to her in the past more tangible, granting you the ability to safely make the leap without the use of more...archaic means."

Jaune didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you-"

"Trust me, kid, you don't need to know…"

Undeterred by Jaune's query, the masked woman continued, another surprising fact falling from her concealed lips.

"Also, you're lucky you both happen to be a twin. Twins have a naturally higher volume of aura, due to the shared connection with their sibling. This will help boost the link, as well, protecting you from any potential...glitches in the transport process."

Jaune wasn't even going to ask what those malfunctions might be. It was probably best that he didn't have access to that knowledge. He didn't want to risk it potentially influencing his final decision. However, there was one detail that could absolutely make or break this choice.

"What's the catch…?"

Both heads turned to face him in perfect synchronization. It was really quite eerie to behold. The woman spoke for clarification.

"I beg your pardon?"

Jaune's eyes averted to the stone floor, blinking away the emotion that threatened to bubble up from his chest and blur his vision, "The catch...the consequence...the price...nothing like this can

possibly come free. What am I sacrificing for this to be a success?"

The siblings seemed to share a silent look, before both turned slowly to face Jaune once more. The masked woman was the one to speak for them again, her words cold, clinical, and to the point. But it wasn't a tone of disinterest, but rather a hint at a dark time in her life...perhaps a first-hand experience with the dangers of this choice.

"Upon arrival, you will have the time that remains until her death to avoid it, but you have to be careful not to change the timeline too much and risk upsetting other chronological events that must still occur. You also are not allowed to tell or tip anyone off to this situation - if you do, you will be immediately returned to the present and lose your opportunity."

Fair enough, Jaune thought, makes sense for continuity. I'm going back to stop someone from messing up the timeline. Wouldn't want to mess it up more, myself...

But the woman was still not finished. This time, nothing she did could hide the grief within her tone, the shroud of black, toxic regret that seemed to resonate in her lilting alto.

"If you fail to keep Pyrrha Nikos from the same fate, you would agree to exchange your life for her own, and sacrifice yourself in her place. This would cause you to disappear from the 'current present' and be believed dead…"

Jaune could probably have heard a pin drop in the heavy, leaden silence that followed the statement. Qrow hadn't been wrong...that was definitely a steep bargain. He had no option for failure. Pyrrha was going to come back, she would be alright. The question became, would he?

Qrow's voice drew the blonde from his thoughts, raspy baritone speaking further on the matter,

"The challenge is that you can't force Pyrrha to do anything; you can only try to convince her without telling her about the...circumstances; There is no way to know that she won't die some other way, so it makes the entire situation very tedious."

Jaune realized this, those he chose to remain silent. Everything about this situation seemed incredibly surreal, but so did the last few months, so he really couldn't protest or complain about it.

The dark-haired woman rose from her seat, straightening to full height, as she regarded him with expectation, "So...are you in or out? We need to know your answer by-"

"I'll do it."

A stunned silence filled the space between the three huntsmen, a new energy buzzing on the balmy air from the open window. Jaune slid from the bed, standing on his feet, and fisting his hands resolutely at his sides. Lifting his head, he regarded the siblings with a determination he hadn't felt in weeks.

"If you believe there is a chance this will bring Pyrrha back, then I'll do whatever it takes."

Qrow's voice was dark and filled with heavy implications, "Even if it means you might not come back with her?"

Jaune frowned in his resolution, eyes blazing with a fire that had nearly been extinguished in the passing weeks. But not it had just found its accelerant, flashing hot like a wildfire behind his stare.

"Whatever it takes…"

The answer seemed to satisfy the pair before him, as they turned and nodded wordlessly to one another.

"Okay, then. Meet us at first light. Same place."

* * *

As Jaune lie awake in bed that night, waiting for sleep to take him, he found himself thinking of

nothing at all - his mind a blank slate and blissfully hollow.

He supposed it was his mental defenses shutting-down the introspective portion of his brain in an act of self-preservation. He was on the dangerous precipice of a substantial emotional overload, and it only made sense that his brain would do the work for him and protect him from the fallout.

Rolling onto his side to face the doorway, Jaune curled an arm beneath the pillow, tugging the blankets up to his throat, and blinking against the darkness. The burning oil lamp on the writing desk radiated a gentle, golden light, bathing the room in a soft, patina glow that cast shadows in all corners. Jaune had never been afraid of the dark, finding a comfort in it that came from the sensation of being caught between sleep and consciousness. In the dark, he could distort reality just enough to forget his problems, as if the shroud of blackness acted as a soft of force-field against the waking nightmares.

His thoughts were interrupted as the door clicked open, two figures tiptoeing quietly into the dimly lit room, taking care not to disturb him. Jaune watched as Nora and Ren went about their nightly routine - Ren heading for the shower, Nora moving to the sink to brush her teeth. He observed their quiet activities for awhile, seconds fading into minutes that turned into nearly half an hour. When Jaune next blinked his eyes open, Nora was seated on the queen-size bed she shared with her partner, gently working at the bandages at her thigh with shaky fingers. He could tell that she was exhausted, the tremble in her digits a sign of low aura and fatigue. The oversized, white t-shirt she wore as a nightgown reached the tops of her skinny thighs, nearly concealed the slightly heaving chest, as she seemed to struggle to catch her breath - winded by their training and her growing exhaustion.

Eventually, the door to the restroom opened, and Ren emerged, clad in white-linen pants and a black t-shirt, working at towel through his soggy, onyx hair. As soon as he noticed Nora struggling with the bandages, he sighed in amusement, draping the towel over his shoulders, and moving to assist her. Pressing his knees into the mattress beside her, he slid smoothly against the sheets as he pulled his legs under him to sit tailor-style. Pale, long-fingered hands gently removed her own from their burden, before moving to work the bandages free with patient, tender touches.

As he unwound the raggedy fabric from her thigh, revealing the shiny, pink scar beneath, he smoothed his thumb over the slightly-textured tissue, dragging a shiver down Nora's spine as he wiped away the loose scabs and crusted blood, "It's healed nicely. I think it will likely fade with time. How does it feel?"

A flush dusted prettily over Nora's cheeks, her blue-green eyes blinking slowly with conflicting emotions, "It doesn't hurt anymore, if that's what you mean."

Ren prodded lightly at the scar a few more times, before cupping his narrow palm over it with a sigh, head lowering as his shoulders sunk under an invisible weight, "I can't believe I almost lost you again…"

Nora's hands moved almost instantaneously at the raspy words, arms wrapping securely around the other's shoulders, crushing him against her in a nearly suffocating embrace, "Oh, Ren...please don't go there. It's in the past. We're okay now. We're here, not there. Please…"

Stroking petite, bony fingers through his damp hair, she pressed a gentle kiss to his crown, rocking slightly, as she leaned back against the headboard. She pulled him to lay along her torso, hands stroking through his hair and down his back with reassuring touches that were far gentler than would be expected of her. Her pale legs bent at the knees, thighs sliding against Ren's

narrow hips, as she pulled him as close as humanly possible, determined to keep him in the present - away from the demons and ghosts of the past which seemed to threaten him with dark memories.

But it seemed that, somehow, she might have dragged him a bit too close, tearing a sharp gasp from his shocked lips as their hips anchored together in a smooth glide, fuchsia locking onto turquoise in startled surprise. Maybe it was the fact that the intentions between them had shifted as of late, or maybe it was the presence of the past clawing at the locked doors to the present, or perhaps it was the fact that they were both just so tired - both physically and emotionally - that composure and restraint were sacrificed to accommodate reassurance and a fierce protectiveness. Whatever the reason, something snapped between the two, Jaune's eyes flashing wide as their mouths crashed over one another and Ren's fingers buried themselves in cinnamon hair and twisted in white cotton.

Jaune knew he should look away, as it was a private moment between his teammates, but as surreal as everything else in his life was, this only added to it. It wasn't until the dark-haired huntsman's mouth descended upon his partner's throat, dragging a fractured sigh from her pale lips, and a callused hand flattened against the curve of her hip, sliding over the black spandex of her panties to slip beneath the white cotton of her sleep-shirt, that Jaune slipped his eyes shut. He did understand some boundaries - there was just some lines he wasn't willing to cross with his teammates.

Shifting against the sheets in a fabricated slumber, he flopped onto his stomach, burying his face into the softness of the pillow. The disturbance seemed to remind his teammates of his presence, a soft sigh preceding Nora's disappointed, yet affectionate, tone, "We can't...not here...not now. It wouldn't be respectful toward Jaune."

"Alright...fair enough. But tomorrow night, you're mine."

A soft giggle was his reply, and Jaune could hear an audible smack, followed by a dark sigh, as the two broke apart from their previous desperation.

As Jaune finally felt the tug of sleep at the backs of his eyes, consciousness blurring at the edges, he only hoped he could have one last night of dreamless sleep before he made the biggest decision of his life.

 _I'll see you tomorrow, Pyrrha. That's a promise. I won't fail you this time..._

* * *

Jaune rose before anyone else was even stirring, the bedside clock reading 0500 hours, and the darkness still soupy and thick about the chamber.

He dressed in silence, sheathing Crocea Mors at his left hip, and lacing his sneakers with slow, steady hands. Pulling his brown, leather gloves onto broad, callused hands, he blinked his vision upward toward the door with a steady resolve.

But first, he moved to his teammates' beside, taking in the tangle mess of limbs and fabric, before leaning forward to place a leather-clad hand atop their joined ones. Squeezing lightly enough to avoid waking them, he sighed roughly, feeling emotion burn at the backs of his eyes.

"We'll be a whole team again in no time. I promise…I'm gonna bring her back."

His answer was the even, steady breathing, as they lie entrenched in a relaxed slumber. Jaune felt his chest clench at the possibility that this could be the last time he ever saw Ren or Nora, but he refused to allow it to control him.

"See you later, guys."

He gave one more light squeeze, before drawing back to full height, stepping away and taking purposeful steps toward the doorway. Glancing at himself in the full-length mirror, he saw before him a copy of himself, but one with a fresh energy and renewed vigor of spirit that he hadn't seen in himself for quite sometimes. Nodding silently, he pulled open the door and plunged into the soft,

grey light of the hallway.

It didn't take him long to relocate the room he'd been dragged to the previous evening, and he didn't bother knocking, twisting the knob and slipping into the chamber unannounced.

Clicking the door shut, he turned to face the presence he felt at his back, locking eyes with the two siblings who sat, reclined against the ledge of the bay window, peering out at the night.

"So, you still serious about this, kid?"

Jaune nodded wordlessly, stepping into the lantern-light and awaiting instruction. His mind was on autopilot, driven by his resolve and determination to move forward...even though he was technically moving backward.

The mysterious woman stood, approaching him slowly, a hand lifting to grasp the front of the porcelain mask. Jaune's brows lifted in shock as she proceeded to pull the disguise away, tossing it onto the bed to her left. As she lifted her face, eyes locking with his own, he felt his breath leave him.

 _No way…_

Though her hair was the color of night and her obsidian brows slanted sharply in concentration, there was no denying the resemblance. She was an almost exact replica of Ruby's sister, Yang. The same pale skin, round face, slender nose, and big, crimson eyes.

"Who are you…?"

Jaune's words were breathed on a confused whisper, and his answer arrived on a dark, heavy sigh.

"All you need to know about me is that I have a past I'm not proud of, but I'm on your side. Beyond that, I matter little in the grand scheme of things."

Qrow chuckled beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "She's too modest. She's probably one of the most important people on Remnant right now."

Giving a firm squeeze to her shoulder, he unsheathed his weapon, taking a step to stand between the two beds, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. We're wasting time now."

His sister seemed to give a moment of pause, eyes blinking as she stared at the boy before her, before moving to stand against the wall across from Qrow. Jaune watched in fascination as she unsheathed her own weapon - a rotary dust sheath revealing a telescopic, crimson odachi. The two raised their weapons simultaneously, striking them across the air in a whistling drag, before the energy seemed to hum to life. Before his eyes, a large, gaping hole appearing to tear in the fabric of space itself, a writhing, warping portal of sorts that hummed and groaned as it opened between the two.

"How is this possible…?"

Qrow turned his gaze toward Jaune, scarlet eyes bearing into him as she spoke, "This is what happens when you cross fairy-tales, a fusion between archaic power and ancient magic - both legends lost to time."

Across the way, the dark-haired woman raised her left hand, flattening it against the air, as a ribbon of braided fire and electricity shot from her palm straight to the center of the portal, an emerald, winged glow framing her startling, blood-red eyes in green flame.

Qrow mirrored her movement, a pure, silver stream of light exiting his palm as it shimmered, a rainbow of colors dancing within the ethereal beam as it crossed and fused with the one his sister had conjured. The portal shifted and flickered against the immense power assaulting it, before flashing brightly and fading to a gentle, undulating tunnel. The previously shadowed scarlet of its walls had changed to a gentle, golden glow, and a warmth emanated from it that Jaune could feel from across the room.

Suddenly, the streams cut out as fists closed around them, weapons sheathed in their respective holsters. Both individuals turned to face him, expectant gazes beckoning him toward the portal.

"Last chance, kid...there's no turning back after you walk through that gateway. When you get to other side, it will drop you into one of the last places you were before everything turned to shit. You don't have much time, so you need to move quickly. Try to go about your day the same way you did before, only be vigilant for the disturbances and pay special care to your partner. Best of luck to you, and godspeed."

Jaune blinked in response, a swift nod jerking at his chin, before he began to walk toward the golden glow. His steps were slow, but moving, and he flicked his eyes toward the mysterious woman.

"So he's the Time-Keeper...but what are you?"

Dark, crimson eyes flicked toward him, a surprise blossoming behind them, as she spoke,

"Hmm...that question...I ask myself that frequently."

Averting her eyes to the portal, she seemed to soften at the edges a bit, "There are four maidens existing in this world...wielding unimaginable power. I just got unlucky enough to be one of them."

Lifting her hand to the wilting plant upon the writing desk, the tips of her fingers barely grazed the shriveled leaves, before it was blossoming and blooming once more, the vibrant green returning to the leaves and stalk so quickly it had Jaune's breath catching.

"My life is full of irony...a line of work filled with such death and destruction...and the damn fertile, flourishing powers of Spring had to go and choose me."

"Raven...don't do this to yourself right now…"

Qrow's voice was thick with sadness and concern, which seemed to reach the woman, as she shrouded her expression in the calmness she had earlier shown.

 _Raven and Qrow Branwen, huh?_

Jaune shook his head in disbelief, eyes dragging back to the portal, "Well, you did say I should keep a very open mind…"

He breathed a haggard sigh, taking another step forward. Pausing just outside of the churning, humming portal, Jaune glanced back at the pair on either side, nodding his thanks and making one, final request, "If I don't make it back from this...will you please look after my team?"

The woman's voice was thick with emotion and a wistful request as she responded, "Will do, kid…but only if you look out for Ruby and Yang. They can be...rather reckless at times, those two."

Jaune nodded in affirmation, sharing a heavy, searching look with the dark-haired woman, before turning back to the gateway before him. Taking that first step past the golden lip of the portal, he refused to hesitate - if nothing else in his life made sense, this was the one, undoubtedly clear moment. Pyrrha had believed in him, and now it was time to believe in himself. So, as the glittering lights enveloped him, plunging him into a glowing, opalescent tunnel, Jaune felt a sense of peace and calm wash over him that he forgot he was capable of experiencing.

 _I found it, Pyrrha...I found my destiny._


	10. One Disaster Less

**Chapter 10: One Disaster Less**

* * *

It was a dizzying sensation, not knowing which way was up or down, right or left. All Jaune could see was the golden haze that enveloped him, dragging his weightless body through a vortex of shimmering fractals and disorienting turbulence. In that moment, he closed his eyes, picturing the path laid out before him. But all he could conjure up was one, overwhelming thought.

He was going to see her again...and soon. Very soon…

The notion filled him with so many different, conflicting emotions that he almost wasn't sure how to process it. Without any visual stimuli to focus on in the whirling portal, all Jaune could do was think of their impending meeting. It was going to take every ounce of his self-control not to break down into tears at the sight of her - not to race to her and gather her up in his arms in a crushing, suffocating embrace. He couldn't afford to make those errors, as they would absolutely tip her off to something abnormal with him.

 _I have to save her...there is no other option...it's my one job...I can't afford to be a failure._

Suddenly, there was a bright, blinding flash and his navel pulled toward the back of his spine in a plummeting sensation, as Jaune felt like he was literally being pulled in ten different direction. Just as he thought his body couldn't take anymore and he was going to lose consciousness, it all stopped. Then, as his hearing returned to him, there was the sound of running water, an echoing drip, and a warmth at his face.

Peeling his eyes open, Jaune came face to face with a running tap, the porcelain bowl of a bathroom sink came into view, and the humid heat caressed his face. Blinking his hazy eyes, he straightened to full height, catching his reflection across from him in a bust-length mirror. He looked so different - the bags under his eyes were gone, his musculature was tighter and firmer, and his clothing was clean and neatly laundered. His hair was shorter, the fringe of the golden strands tickling at his temples in a lazy sweep, and there was a healthy color to his cheeks.

 _Oh my goodness...it worked!_

He remembered this place - the public restrooms in the Student Center across from the Fairgrounds. The soft, patina glow that filtered in from the doorway told him it was nearly sunset, and he instantly knew when he had been dropped.

There was only one time he had been near the Fairgrounds in the early evening - the night of the 2nd Round of the 1-on-1 Finals.

Taking a shaky breath, fighting the butterflies that seemed to attack his stomach in a swarm, he twisted the tap to cut the stream of water, resting his hands on the edge of the counter to recompose himself. His fingers trembled, and his shoulders shuddered against the weight of his responsibility, but he would not falter this time.

Raising his head to stare once more at his reflection, he nodded resolutely, before turning over his shoulder and exiting the facilities.

He knew exactly where he'd find her.

He remembered exactly how this encounter had last played out.

But _he_ wasn't playing around this time, though. There would be no cotton candy ploy for attention; no anecdote about how his family didn't believe in him, in order to make an attempt to level with her; and there would be no nonchalant covering of her gloved hand with his own.

There was no time for such trivialities.

Until he had guaranteed her safety...until they were past this ugly, damned night that had stolen her life...everything he did was, for all intents-and-purposes, a mission. If that was how he had to look at this in order to be successful, then that was what he would do. He wasn't here to spend a few _'last moments'_ with her, or to tell her a proper goodbye. He was here to save her life, even if it might cost him his own.

So, it was determined steps that carried him toward the cafeteria, long strides with sure feet, that led him to her presence.

No matter how much he had talked himself down and reasoned with his psyche about how this was a glorified mission, nothing could have prepared him for the moment his eyes found her. She was in the exact same position he remembered - reclined against the outer walls of the cafeteria, legs stretched out before her, one hand braced on the cobblestones beneath her, the other resting limply in her lap. Her eyes were haunted and sad, a look of pure confliction concealing her normally peaceful and bright expression. The difference this time, was that Jaune understood exactly what he needed to do.

He knew she would have to fight later that evening, and he was determined to assist her in having the best mindset for the upcoming duel. It might not change anything, but he was damn sure going to try.

Sucking in a cleansing breath, Jaune swallowed around the lump forming in his throat, suddenly wishing for that cotton-candy, so that he might have some way to occupy his nervous hands. Settling for shoving them into the denim pockets of his jeans, he moved to close the distance between them. Approaching from her left, he knew she wouldn't notice him - she hadn't last time, and wouldn't now. Her thoughts were somewhere else - _she_ was somewhere else.

So, as he came to stand before her, he was able to study her briefly, feeling his heart clench in his chest - as if here were staring at a memory.

She was alive.

She was sitting right there, green eyes staring blankly at an orange maple leaf on the cobblestones beside her right boot. Her chest rose and fell with each life-giving breath, and her lips were parted around a concerned frown, a sadness etched into her features. Dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she sighed softly, crimson bangs stroking against her brow as a breeze blew through the narrow area.

His voice caught in his throat, but he forced it out on a raspy, "Hey…"

* * *

Pyrrha felt a jolt of panic sting through her chest at the unexpected voice, surprised green eyes flicking up, as she raised her head to address the visitor. Silence fell as she took in the presence of her partner, his face filled with concern and something else she didn't recognize.

He removed his hands from his pockets, lowering to a crouch before her, and she didn't have any time to react, before his gloved hands were offered to her, palms lifted in an unexpected gesture.

She stared at him with startled confusion, verdant eyes blinking widely, as soft, gentle words fell from his lips, "Come on, let's take a walk."

She eyed his hands for a brief moment, chest clenching in conflict, as she weighed the situation. She didn't want to risk exposing her teammates to her burden, it wasn't theirs to bear. They were wonderful, selfless, beautiful people who didn't deserve to be tasked with protecting her, loving her...especially if she made the decision to accept Ozpin's offer. If she opted to receive the Maiden's power, there was no guarantee that she would still be the same woman she was today - no promise that she wouldn't turn on them, try to hurt them, or, at the very least, break their spirits once they realized she was no longer the same teammate with whom they had forged their bonds of comradeship...of friendship and family. This would all be easier if she were to distance herself now in preparation - sure, it would hurt everyone, including herself, but it would make things transition smoother in the long-run.

But that just didn't feel _right_.

Pyrrha had always prided herself on her keen ability to draw a clear distinction between right and wrong from a very young age. Moral ambiguity was never something she had struggled with, and doing the ' _right thing_ ' had always come naturally to her. She figured that was why this entire situation with the Fall Maiden was causing her such overwhelming grief.

She had made a vow very early in her career as a huntress that she would value all human life, no matter how good, no matter how evil. This was why the decision was such a difficult one. They were essentially asking her to end another person's life in order to perpetuate a pre-determined fate which had haunted young girls for centuries. Therefore, even though this decision would ultimately be for the greater good of all, she wasn't sure if she could go through with it.

So, as she stared at those offered hands, taking in the worn, brown leather encasing slender, callused fingers, she hesitated. Not because she didn't want to take them, but because she _did_.

Would it not be a huge detriment to her progress to indulge in her secret wishes, to pretend, for just a moment, that fate might be throwing her a lifeline - a handsome, charming, selfless lifeline, with golden hair in need of a trim and azure eyes that melted her heart? Perhaps she could allow herself this brief moment of relief, this fleeting interaction that couldn't possibly lead to anything more than heartbreak and disappointment when it would inevitably be snatched away from her...just like everything else.

Before she could wonder at the dilemma any longer, her body moved for her, rebuking her mind's hesitation, and her gloved palms slid into his own. Her heart skipped a beat as those strong hands closed around her's, tugging her up to a standing position, chest to chest and eye to eye.

Her breath caught in her throat, those sapphire eyes so close to her own that she had to blink away the shock from her features. She'd never really noticed just how blue they were, blonde lashes hovering over them, as they seemed to penetrate her very soul. There was something different in his gaze, something that hadn't been there an hour ago when they had left the dormitory, and she puzzled at what it could be. His eyes held a new intensity to them, something rough around the edges, and maybe even a tiny bit restrained.

What surprised her the most, though, was that Jaune made no move to drop her hands, even though she was already standing. The grip lingered at their opposite sides, long fingers curled against her gloved palms in a way that twisted a sensation of fruitless wanting to coil in her belly. No other boy had ever had this effect on her, and it was a torturous notion that she might never be able to truly experience everything he might have to offer. Even if he were to felt the same...it seemed that she was fated to remain alone.

Or, at least she had thought as much, until she felt the fingers of his left hand lace purposefully between the gloved digits of her right, pulling a sharp gasp from her lips in response.

Her green eyes widened, staring in unveiled shock, as Jaune blinked his gaze away toward the mostly-empty courtyard before them. The wind ruffled through his careless hair, his profile presented to her, as he began to walk forward, leading her along beside him.

That strong palm stroked against her own as she walked beside him, her heart hammering in her chest at the potential implications of this action.

Was he just being nice and supportive? It was possible, but he had never done anything like this before...

Was he doing this to distract her from her problems, in an attempt to get her to talk about what was obviously bothering her? Again, it was possible, but this wasn't Jaune's style when it came to confrontation.

So...then, could it be possible that he might be trying to tell her something more personal by this? Could he maybe...be…?

 _Be what? Falling for_ _ **you**_ _? Don't be a silly little girl…he likes Weiss. Petite, fair, perfect Weiss Schnee...not you - too-tall, too-terribly-flawed, too-not his type - Pyrrha Nikos._

But then why was his thumb stroking over the back of her leather-clad knuckles? Why were his fingers threaded through her own as if he were afraid she'd run? Why was that look in his eyes so much more invasive and appraising than before?

"You know, you don't have to go through this alone…"

His words caught her terribly off-guard, words ringing in her ears, and dragging that agonizing uncertainty from before back up to the forefront of her mind. Oh, how she wished she didn't have to go through this alone...how she wished she could unshoulder just a small fraction of this burden onto her friends and teammates. But she couldn't. She didn't have that luxury.

"Jaune, you don't under-"

"Pyrrha, I don't know what's going on...but whatever it is, it can't be good for you."

Her brain stuttered to a complete halt, lips parting in shock at his statement, fingers unconsciously tightening against his own, "W-what…?"

He pulled her to a stop in the middle of the sparsely populated courtyard, the sun hanging low on the horizon, bathing them in warm, pastel hues, the shadows growing behind the trees and shrubbery of the water gardens just beyond their position. Standing there, between the metal benches lining the pathway to the CCTS, Pyrrha lost her breath at the expression that passed over Jaune's face. It had been brief, but it had held something rough and dark, some sort of black memory or unsettling regret that had her skin crawling, as her own concern for him bubbled just beneath the surface.

His words were soft, and she might have missed them if she hadn't been listening so closely, eyes tracking every subtle shift in his composure.

"Whatever is going on, it's making you _so_ unhappy. If it were me...I would say forget it. It can't be worth it if you risk losing yourself."

His words cut her right through to her most basic fears, her most simple reservations about this entire potentiality, should she choose to accept her offered fate. Losing herself…

And he wasn't finished.

His voice was rough, filled with an emotion she didn't recognize ever hearing him convey, and she found herself drawn in by it.

"You're important, Pyrrha...important just the way you are. Don't ever throw that away out of obligation or a sense of duty. You may be a huntress, determined to save the world, but you're also a person...a person who happens to be very special to me. Don't just write that off…"

It was in that moment that Pyrrha's heart literally broke - not just cracked or fractured. It crumbled apart and fell to the floor in scattered, chipped pieces. There was absolutely nothing else that Jaune could have said in that moment, considering her current situation, that would have affected her the way those words did. They had wrapped around her, promising a blessed relief, only to catalyze a chain reaction of debilitating feelings that pressed up against the back of her verdant eyes in a slow, stinging burn.

Her free hand moved to cover her mouth, trapping the small whimper that threatened to fall from her trembling lips, as her chest swelled with an overwhelming combination of sadness and hope.

She had spent her entire life working toward a crazy ideal she like to call _'destiny'_ \- something she had set for herself and that would define her at her most basic level. But this was something she hadn't accounted for...this was a snag in her plans, a wrench that had been thrown in by fate to test her resolve with the temptation of something sweeter, something softer and filled with promise. She couldn't afford to fall into this honey-trap, but, oh, how she _longed_ to.

As she prepared to drop his hand, steeling herself to move away from him and create some much-needed distance, his voice found her once again, and this time, she was completely unprepared for what he had to say.

"Pyrrha, I believe you aren't controlled by your destiny. You write your own fate. You make your own luck. Just because you feel like you're supposed to do something, doesn't mean you have to suffer for it."

Just as the first tears began to fall, Pyrrha found her face pressed into a pale throat that smelled of clean cotton, gloved hands flattening against the curves of her back, as strong arms encircled her in a warmth and security that she had never before experienced. Never had she expected this sort of purposeful intervention from her partner - who had always been very reserved and shy about emotional subjects. Yet, here he was enfolding her in a devastatingly telling embrace, and breathing soft words against her ear.

"You shouldn't have to do this alone, and I won't let you."

* * *

Jaune felt every tremor in Pyrrha's frame as he pulled her against him, every gasping breath broke against his neck, as she fought back her emotions, her slender hands curling against the metal of his breastplate like a vice. As much as it pained him to see her like this, to feel her shoulders trembling beneath his fingers, and her shattered breath against his throat...he couldn't help but feel pure relief at her responses. All of this meant that she was alive, she was here, and she wasn't slamming him into a concrete wall with her semblance.

Smoothing his hands over her back, fingers trailing over the stiff ridges of her corset's boning, Jaune did his best to keep his touch away from her skin. As starved as he was for her presence, her proximity, he knew that initiating any kind of intimate contact would only blow his cover. As much as he wanted to scoop her up and kiss her senseless, he knew that he would need to take this slow, ease into it. He didn't want to come on too strong and drive her away...besides, the strength and power of his feelings wouldn't normally have been as amplified as they were, if it not for her potential demise.

Drawing a deep breath, Jaune allowed his eyes to slip closed, as the tremors in Pyrrha's shoulders began to wane, her breath beginning to even out, and the desperation in his own blood banked to a mild simmer.

Sliding a hand to the back of Pyrrha's scarlet ponytail, Jaune coaxed her away from her press at his shoulder, watching as her fingers rose to her cheeks to dry them with gentle brushes of her gloved fingers. Those big, watery, green eyes finally locked onto his own, and he had to use every ounce of his self-control not to kiss her right there. Oh, how he'd missed those expressive, honest eyes. He'd spent so much of his composure ensuring he didn't capture her lips that he had none left to control his hands. Callused fingers rose to tuck her thick bangs behind her left ear, thumb grazing the soft skin of her cheek in the process. He didn't miss the shiver it drew from her.

"Pyrrha...that fact that something has you so torn up should make it obvious enough that you need some outside help," he took her by the arm and led her over to one of the metal benches lining the courtyard, "Here, come sit with me. Tell me what's up. I'm not letting you leave until you do."

Her expression flickered briefly, lashes beating down against her cheeks on a flutter, as she lowered to the seat beside him. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the stiffness in her gait, and reflexively reached out to take her hand, lacing their fingers once more. He didn't miss the snag in her breath, the shiver that skittered down her spine, or the unconscious tightening of her grip. She was quiet for several long moments, as if weighing her words, tasting them in her mouth before speaking.

"Jaune...I don't know what to do," her eyes lowered to the cobblestone path at their feet, boots crossing at the ankle and knees bending to tuck her legs beneath the bench, "I've had an... _opportunity_ presented to me recently - one that, if I should decide to accept, could potentially affect the rest of my life."

Jaune sighed softly, hoping and praying to whatever gods might exist that he was able to handle this conversation with the sensitivity and advice it deserved. Stroking his thumb reassuringly over the backs of her knuckles, he tipped his head forward, trying to catch her eyes, as she continued.

"I've always felt that I was destined to become a huntress - to protect the world. And it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right...but...I don't know if I can do it."

This was it. He was absolutely sure that this was one of those pivotal moment that would determine how the rest of this evening would go. He couldn't blow this - their lives were counting on it. So, taking a cleansing breath, he blinked slowly, gazing at her profile, as he worked to change their fate.

"Pyrrha...why would you think that? It's very unlike you to doubt yourself...what could possibly be going on to have you in this mindset? Where's that confident, smiling girl who nearly skewered me with her javelin in the Emerald Forest last year? The one who was always there to cheer me up...even as _I_ was the one letting _her_ down."

Green eyes flew wide, lips parting around a startled gasp, "Jaune, no. I don't-"

"It's okay. You don't have to cover for me. I know how dumb and oblivious I've been in the past...how unobservant and careless I can _still_ be."

Blinking gently, Jaune allowed a soft smile to tug at the corner of his lips, reaching over to take her other hand in his, enjoying the shocked look that painted her porcelain features, those green eyes sparkling with something that looked an awful lot like hope.

"Pyrrha...I want you to know that I'm here - for you, for anything you need. And right now I can see that you _do_ need something...now, _please_...tell me how to help you. Because I'm not leaving here until you're smiling and excited for tonight. So...you better start talking soon. You wouldn't want to be late again."

* * *

She had told him everything. She couldn't believe it herself, but she had somehow managed to pour out all of her stress, all of her shame, all of her fear, and all of her pain...and the relief that she felt was unnameable.

And he had taken it all. He had sat there, patient and willing, as she had spewed crazy, ridiculous words at him and hoped they would stick. He didn't tell her she was crazy. He didn't laugh and ask if she was joking. He just sat there and listened, with a calm expression and soothing energy about him that helped keep those words flowing.

Before she knew it, an hour had passed, the sun dipping below the horizon, and night falling in a blanket of glimmering stars over their heads. She had been so absorbed in the unloading of her burdens, that she barely had any time at all to appreciate the few moments of relief she could enjoy before her scroll vibrated at her hip.

Reaching into her hip-pouch, Pyrrha procured the shaking device, flipping open the screen on a sharp intake of breath, "Oh! The Tournament. I...nearly forgot. We should go. I don't have much time."

Standing quickly from her seat on the metal bench, she smoothed gloved palms over her sash-wrapped hips, a nervous habit she had picked up as a child. Grabbing Jaune by the wrist, she took off for the air-docks, as she felt a surge of excitement fill her for the 1v1 rounds in a little under half an hour. It felt amazing to unload all of that emotional baggage, leaving her feeling lighter than she had in days.

Jaune's startled yelp sounded behind her,and she couldn't contain the gentle laugh that escaped her lips at how easy he was to catch off-guard. She imagined the adorably shocked expression on his face, azure eyes flashing widely, lips parting around that charming sound, as he succumbed to whatever ridiculous plans into which she might be dragging him.

Looking back, she expected to see his typically bewildered expression, a question on his lips as he was forced to follow her. However, what she saw instead stole her breath. Jaune wore a soft, affectionate smile, as if he were looking at her through different eyes than he had before. It made her turn her head back to the path before them, a soft flush dusting her cheeks as she struggled to compose herself.

As they made it to the short line for the next air-taxi, she slowed her pace, tugging him gently behind her, as she stared ahead with wide, unseeing eyes, praying Jaune wouldn't see the flush that dusted her cheeks. Her grip as his wrist loosened, before falling away completely, her fingers flexing and contracting at her sides, as she swallowed thickly around a knot of unspoken words and unnamed emotions.

As the line began to move, the metallic taps of feet making their way up the narrow ramp, Pyrrha moved slowly, as if afraid she might accidentally trip or stumble, even though she knew herself to be extremely light on her feet. It was a ridiculous notion, now that she considered it.

Finding a pair of seats at the back of the air-taxi, Pyrrha lowered herself to the thin cushion with a slow, deliberate motion, hands resting on her lap and back straight in a display of perfectly learned posture. Perhaps her shoulders were a little stiffer and her back a bit straighter than normal, but she hoped it wouldn't be enough to draw notice from the other.

But just as she was about to fuss over the possibility a bit more, that gloved hand landed atop her's once again, stealing her breath and dusting a flush over her cheeks. No words were spoken as his callused fingers curled against her palm, drawing her hand to rest beneath his on the shared armrest between their two seats. It wasn't until his thumb brushed over the backs of her knuckles through the thin leather of her gloves that she sucked in a breath through her nose, chasing away that light-headed sensation of confusion and hope.

She wanted to ask him...really wanted clarification that this wasn't just a friendly gesture, but the words stuck in her throat and she lost the ability to speak.

They remained like this, in golden silence with hands clasped loosely, lazily and Pyrrha wondered how different things were going to be after the Tournament had passed and the hype had died down...would they still be like this, or would this, too, fade with the season?

As the air-taxi docked with a small jolt into the ports of Amity Colosseum, she thought he might pull back, that he might retreat once more to save face. But she was shocked to find that his hand only gripped tighter, lacing their leather-clad hands together in what she had only just realized was a perfect fit. The thought made her heart flutter slightly, and she couldn't help but entertain the thought that this might be real…

As they exited the vessel, filtering out with the other milling individuals, Jaune was a steady presence at her side, as their clasped hands swung gently between them, drawing subtle looks from a few curious passers-by. Pyrrha felt a tiny lick of pride flash through her at the thought that Jaune was okay with others presuming these things about them, even though they hadn't even discussed what this really meant. She hoped she wasn't assuming too much by his uncharacteristic actions, and she truly couldn't contain the unexpected joy she felt at his actions, a barely-restrained smile quirking at the corners of her pale lips.

As they entered the Colosseum, riding the escalator down to the Combatant's Den - where all combatants awaited their next battle - Jaune tugged at her hand just before the hallway curved to meet the chamber. He turned her to face him, taking both of her hands in his, a soft smile that reached his eyes dancing at his features, "I know you're gonna do great, Pyrrha. You always do, and I can't wait to watch you win this one."

Her smile had almost turned goofy at the sheer amount of butterflies he was letting loose into her stomach, her cheeks flushing under his easy words, "Jaune...I…"

He chuckled a bit at her flustered appearance, reaching out to tuck that same stray hair behind her left ear, drawing shivers down her spine at the action, "Go kick some butt, Pyrrha."

And with that, he pulled her into a tight, comfortable embrace that filled her nose with his clean scent and her heart with so much warmth and love that she almost couldn't stand it. Her hands slowly rose to flatten against the curve of his strong back, feeling the slender muscles ripple beneath her touch.

As much as she wanted to stay here and soak in his warmth, Pyrrha knew she had to go, to gather with the other students who were competing in the 1v1 round tonight, in the event they were picked. Retreating from that welcome embrace, she sighed softly, green eyes flicking up shyly to lock with azure orbs, "Thank you, Jaune...I really needed this right now."

* * *

As Jaune watched her back retreat down the hallway toward the Combatant's Den, Jaune felt himself deflate slightly. He had been so happy to see her, to touch her, to talk with her...and now he was watching her walk into the one fight that would change it all. The next couple of hours were going to be crucial to his success, and it only made those final moments with her that much harder - knowing that everything would be going to Hell in a hand-basket in under 2 hours.

Drawing a cleansing breath, he shoved his hands into his pockets, turning over his shoulder and heading toward the stands. He would need to be exceptionally vigilant, for he needed to process several things at once, all while watching for obscure moments that could affect the timeline. Ascending the ramp toward the participant's section, he found his other two teammates, taking a seat to their left on the front row - the same seat he had sat in the last time…

Sinking into the plush fabric of the stadium seat, he glanced around the arena, listening to Ren and Nora bicker like an old, married couple. His eyes softened at the sight, realizing now that they were destined for so much more with one another. Hopefully it wouldn't take the previous outcome to spur that relationship forward. If that were the case, Jaune might have to step in at some point and intervene. He wasn't above it at this point.

Allowing his hands to rest limply in his lap, he leaned back into the chair, blue eyes scanning the crowd. Glancing over his shoulders to get a better look at the layout, he spotted Ruby coming down the ramp to watch the fight.

This was it. This was a choice he was making that could affect everything from here on out. Without too much hesitation, he drew a breath, nodded to himself, and stood from his seat. Turning over his shoulder, he raised his right arm, waving to the hooded girl.

"Hey, Ruby! Come sit with us! We've got an extra seat..."


End file.
